


Zugzwang

by Drakanin



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Gen, No Romance, Non-RT AU, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Violence, Will update tags as story progresses, but lots of platonic love, mythical creatures, original character villains, vampire!gavin, werewolf!Jon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2018-12-04 00:23:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11543544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakanin/pseuds/Drakanin
Summary: When Gavin is Turned into a vampire, Geoff knows what to do. He takes Gavin and the others to a prison-like building thought long abandoned. At first it seems like a change they can adapt to. All Gavin has to do is control his new instincts, and all the others have to do is learn how to fight vampires.But the situation only gets messier when Jeremy's two friends follow him to the building, a werewolf shows up at an inopportune time, and they discover their facility is not as secure as they thought.FIRST TWO CHAPTERS RE-EDITED: I took joel out lol





	1. The Turning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little nervous about posting this, not because I fear for its quality, but I fear for my ability to upkeep two ongoing fics with a third down the pipeline in addition to everything else I do in my free time. But you miss 100% of the shots you never take! And I've been working on this a lot the past week or so. So we'll see how well I can update everything. :)

Gavin strode down the sidewalk, shoulders hunched against the dark night and his hood up against strangers’ eyes. He already missed the warmth of the bar and the security of his friends. He watched his feet as he walked, the buzz of alcohol making the action very important to him. He hadn’t wanted to leave before everyone else, but he had just gotten back from a long trip overseas, and he needed the rest. He wasn’t done socializing, but his body refused…

His shoulder knocked into someone. He jerked aside, his eyes lifting from the sidewalk.

“Oh, sorry…”

He frowned. The entire street was empty and dark, and the nearby lamp had burned out. Had he imagined it? He shook his head and continued on his way, walking a bit faster now.

He passed by an alleyway, a narrow strip of pitch black between two apartment buildings. He heard movement right behind him, a shuffle of shoes, and he spun on his heel. No one. He didn’t imagine the sound _and_ his shoulder’s impact. Right? Oh, he wished he had not decided to leave the bar alone. Having Michael or Jeremy by his side would make him feel much safer. Michael would intimidate anyone who looked at him wrong, and Jeremy... well Jeremy would fight anyone. But he left the both of them, as well as the others, at the bar.

He turned and ran.

He made it three steps before a shadow flitted in front of him. He skidded to a stop, arms windmilling as he nearly lost his balance. His heart beat in his throat.

A voice whispered in his ear, a cold breath making his skin prickle. “So it was you I smelled… Good…”

A hand grabbed his wrist, and he could only let out a startled yelp as he was yanked towards the alleyway so hard his arm nearly dislocated from its socket. His heels scuffed against the ground as he was dragged into the darkness.

Gavin tried to fight off his attacker, tried to rip his arm from the other’s grasp, but then his feet left the earth. His back slammed into the brick wall and he crumpled to the ground. For a moment—just a moment!—he was dazed. But that was all the time the attacker needed to get close to Gavin’s face. A hand snaked to his chin, grabbed his cheeks and forced his head back.

Something stabbed his neck, buried deep into the muscle. His whole shoulder seized at the pain, and he gasped a shuddering gasp. He writhed against the attacker’s weight on him, weakly trying to free himself. He felt his blood drain. He began to feel light-headed, woozy, like he was going to pass out.

“Please…” he whispered. He could see the sky above past the buildings, a navy burned with pollution and with few stars. The sky blurred, and Gavin shut his eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

The pain at his neck released, and his attacker gave a long, slow chuckle.

“You want to keep living,” said the attacker. “Good, good… Then drink up.”

A hand pressed against Gavin’s mouth, and he tasted blood.

* * *

 

Alcohol had not passed his lips in months, but Geoff still got a pleasant buzzed feeling simply from being in the bar atmosphere with his drinking friends. Ryan was the only other one who had not drank anything alcoholic, electing instead to sip on a diet coke all night while the others got sloppy. Geoff had tried a selection of virgin cocktails, and he would have liked to try more, but it really was getting late, and he had to make sure his drunk friends made it home safely.

He walked in the back of the pack next to Ryan, watching his friends in a pleasant silence. Michael and Jeremy were hotly debating something, though they slurred so bad that Geoff didn’t bother paying attention to their words. Lindsay was sharing cat pictures with Jack, and they were cooing together with heads bowed together over her phone.

A chill shuddered over Geoff. He stopped in front of an alleyway, his buzzed feeling evaporating. There was something on the ground in the shadows, and his hairs stood on end. His instincts were screaming at him, screaming something he hadn’t felt in a long while. Ryan pulled on his arm.

“Geoff, come on, quit fucking around,” Ryan said. “We’re gonna leave you behind.”

“Hey!” Geoff shouted. He sprinted towards the alley. Ryan let him go, calling to the others to stop walking. “Get off of him!”

The others took a closer look at the alley. The figures had been still before, but Ryan could see two shapes on the ground now, cloaked in shadows. One of them stood up, laughed, and made a sudden movement as Geoff approached. Ryan flinched, hoping he wasn’t about to see Geoff die. But when he looked again, the figure was jumping up the walls of the two buildings. When it reached the top, it flipped over a roof and was gone.

Geoff let it go. He was crouching by the other figure, fingers trying to find a pulse at its neck.

“Oh my god,” Michael whispered next to Ryan. Ryan’s heart dropped. He, too, knew the figure. The man lying still next to Geoff.

Michael’s words spurred them into movement, hurrying forward to crowd around Geoff and—Ryan hoped he was just unconscious—Gavin. Ryan felt like vomiting. There was so much dark blood at his neck. At his mouth. He looked like a corpse, crumpled on the ground.

“Is he okay?” Michael demanded hoarsely. “Geoff! _Is he okay?_ ”

“No pulse,” Geoff said quietly. Then he took out his phone, turned on the flashlight and shone it on Gavin’s ashen face. Michael sought Lindsay’s hand and squeezed it, his eyes glued on Gavin. Ryan couldn’t blame him. The white light made it worse. Threw the colors into sharp contrast. Gavin had been fine half an hour ago! Lively, headed home…

Geoff pulled at Gavin’s lips as if to check his teeth, then pried open one of his eyes and shone the light into it.

“Oh, fuck,” Geoff muttered. He turned to Jack. “Call our contact at the blood bank. Right fucking now. I don’t care where he is or what time it is.”

Jack jumped and fumbled his phone out of his pocket. Geoff started searching for his own phone.

“We need to call the cops!” Ryan said. “We need an ambulance!”

“No,” said Geoff. He tapped his phone’s screen and held it up to his ear.

“Geoff!” Jeremy pleaded. “We can’t leave him like this. We have to…” His own sob cut him off.

“None of that will help now,” Geoff said. “I’ll explain later—Burnie! Hello! We need your help. I’m afraid we need the old facility.”

* * *

 

Like a swimmer coming up for air after an extended time underwater, Gavin gasped. His whole body shuddered as he sucked in air, his diaphragm creaking with fresh movement. He coughed out the dead breaths still settled in his lungs, rolling onto his side and curling up with his coughs.

Finally, he could breathe again, even if it was raspy and hard. He cracked open his eyes, squinted through too bright light to peer at his surroundings.

The last thing he remembered…

Gavin forced himself to sit up despite every muscle burning in protest. His arms shook with the effort of pushing himself up, but fear drove him onward. Fear of what he remembered.

The room was white—if not a little metallic? Shiny walls and ceramic tile floor. He blinked hard, his eyes watering. The bed was sterile, white with a beige blanket, though he lay on top of it all. He wore… white scrubs? He wasn’t wearing the clothes he had worn last night, that was for sure. The clothes were stiff cotton, like the bedsheets.

There was little else in the room. The walls were blank. There was a toilet and a sink, both steel. Sterile. Easy to clean. The door looked steel as well, and there was a mail slot-like flat at the bottom, big enough to slide a meal through, and a window of vertical iron bars at eye height. Or _were_ they iron? They almost looked silver—the whole door did. There was no handle on the inside. It was as though he was imprisoned.

Gavin clutched his stomach. His fears deadened with how _hungry_ he was.

Gavin smelled something good. _Several_ somethings. His stomach clawed at his insides. His mouth felt dry, his throat a desert. He inhaled the aroma, leaned towards its source. What was it? It was a cacophony of scents, all reminding him of a feast.

He slipped off his bed and crept towards the door, towards the source.

“Back up,” said a voice from the other side. The command wasn’t directed at Gavin, but—it was Geoff. Gavin edged closer. Geoff’s face appeared at the bars, grim and serious as he looked at Gavin.

“Geoff,” Gavin whined. He pressed his whole body against the door, scratched his nails at the edges for purchase. “I’m—I’m hungry, Geoff.”

“I know,” Geoff said. “We’ll get you sustenance soon.”

“ _Geeeooofffffff_ ,” Gavin whined again. He gripped the bars in the window and pulled. “I smell food right there. You _have_ to let me have it!”

“No,” said Geoff. People murmured behind him. Uncomfortable.

Gavin yanked at the bars. This wasn’t fair! He was hungry! Parched! On death’s door, and Geoff—his own friend _Geoff_ wasn’t giving him food. Gavin let out a guttural shriek, which made Geoff take a step back. Gavin tried to shove his arm through the bars, but his forearm was too wide. It got stuck. He waved his hand helplessly.

“Geoff, give me something!” he cried. “You’re killing me, Geoff! Please! Let me out! Give me something!”

He grabbed the bars again and jumped up to press his feet against the door. He pulled at it, and Geoff just let him. The door never budged, and soon Gavin felt his energy drain from his little tantrum. This wasn’t fair! He put his feet back down, exhausted. He let his forehead thump against the door and sank to the floor, slid down until he had to let go of the bars to crumple.

“Geoff,” he sobbed. He began to shiver and couldn’t stop, his breaths coming in hiccups. “How could you do this to me, Geoff?”

“I’m sorry,” Geoff said through the window. “Someone is on their way with—with food. As for now, I’d step away from the door. It’ll keep draining your energy.”

Gavin twisted to blink up at the window, even though he couldn’t see Geoff at this angle. “Why?”

“It’s coated in silver,” Geoff said. “It tires you out.”

“Oh,” Gavin said. “I didn’t know that.”

“Now you do,” Geoff said. “Get back to your bed and wait for food.”

Gavin looked over at the bed and scowled. He did move away from the door, but he dragged himself to the nearest corner and curled up there. He couldn’t stop shivering, and wild rage broiled just beneath his surface—only weariness kept it down for now. He glared at the door. Food was _right there_ , and he was made to wait for something else! How agonizing! Surely he would die, and Geoff is killing him!

He turned into the corner and pressed his forehead against the wall to wait.

* * *

 

“He called us food,” Ryan muttered.

The others around the old cafeteria table shifted, shrugged, scratched their arms and head. “It was clearly us—there was nothing else there.”

“He’s turned into a _monster_ ,” Jeremy said. He avoided looking at the others, and instead studied their room. It used to be a faculty cafeteria, but most of the cheap, round tables had been removed or broken. Even this one was delicate—one of its legs was precariously balanced. There was a counter off to the side that an employee could serve food from behind, though it was as dusty as the first snow of the year.

“He’s still Gavin,” Lindsay said. “At least he’s not _dead_ …”

“Aren’t you bothered by being called fucking _food_?” Michael snapped. “Did you not see how he screamed and tried to rip the door off to get to us?”

“And now we’re waiting for Geoff’s friend to come with a… a delivery?” Ryan said. “And who was that guy who gave us the keys to this place?”

“Everyone shut up,” Geoff said. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Everyone was quiet for about three seconds before focusing their frustration unanimously towards him. Only Jack remained silent, his arms crossed as he stared at a spot on the table.

“And you!” Jeremy cried. “You haven’t told us anything yet!”

“You can’t keep us in the dark!” Michael said. “Not when we thought we lost Gavin!”

“He _did_ die,” Geoff said softly. The angry accusations hesitated. “He did die back there, but he came back.”

“What do you _mean?_ ” Michael exclaimed, his voice hoarse.

“See, it’s shit like that,” Jeremy said with a scowl. “You can’t just say that shit and expect us to be satisfied.”

“People can’t come back,” Lindsay said—almost pleading. “How could he have come back?”

“Just give me a minute!” Geoff shouted suddenly. “Fucking Christ, alright? I only wanted to explain this once, and to wait until Gavin is lucid again, but you idiots won’t give me peace!”

“Just tell them, Geoff,” Jack said. “We are sitting in a cafeteria inside a prison-like building we thought long abandoned. You owe them an explanation.”

“That’s because it _is_ a sort of prison,” Geoff said. “Or—it was. We haven’t—it hasn’t been used in nearly a decade.”

“Come on, Geoff,” Jack prodded impatiently. “Spill it. Tell them who ‘we’ are.”

Geoff spread his arms out wide, gesturing to the entire cafeteria. To its pale walls soiled with grime and the occasional vandalism, to its hard ceramic floor cracked with age.

“This _was_ a prison,” Geoff repeated. “But not for humans like you and me. It’s specialized, for… for things like what Gavin has become. It used to be one of the hubs of an organization of people I was a part of in the past. This organization tracked down things like Gavin and made sure they couldn’t hurt anyone. There are specialized cages all over this place, all designed to hold in different… creatures.”

“What happened to the organization…?” Ryan muttered, wondering out loud.

“It fell apart.”

“Creatures?” Jeremy repeated. “Like what?”

“Yes,” Geoff affirmed. “Like Gavin. Like…”

Geoff cut off as the cafeteria’s main entrance doors flung open, and a man about Geoff’s age entered with a broad smile. Last time they had seen him, it had been dark, and he had been almost entirely hidden from view by a mixture of shadows and Geoff. Now they could see his hair was brown and curly and cut short, and he wore thick-rimmed glasses and an athletic jacket. He carried a grocery bag, and they could see dark red through the white plastic.

“Everyone,” announced Geoff. The man set the bag down, and from the way it settled on the table, they could _all_ see that it contained blood bags like those from hospitals. “I’d like you to officially meet Burnie. He’s an old… friend.”

Burnie grinned. “Hi, guys! Nice to meet you!”

* * *

 

Gavin heard footsteps approach his door, and he let out a moan, just so they didn’t forget how miserable he was. He hadn’t moved from his corner. But there was someone there that Gavin didn’t know, and he warily looked up at the door.

“Geoff,” Gavin said, his intonation a mix between crooning and whining. “I hope your new friend has brought me food.”

“As a matter of fact…” said Geoff.

The slot at the bottom of the door shoved open with a loud sliding metal bang. A few plastic bags were thrown through, and the slot banged closed again. Gavin hopped to his feet instantly, crouching low to the ground. Other than a slightly stale scent, those bags smelled absolutely delicious. And he was just so…. _Hungry_.

He crawled over to them, grabbed a bag and ripped it open with his teeth—too fast, too much. Cool, thick liquid spilled out of it, burst over his hands and the floor. He whined, desperately trying to lick it off his hands, trying to save the rest of it from leaking out of the bag even though it was mostly on the floor now. Its flavor curled across the tongue, but not enough to quench is thirst. What a waste! A fucking waste!

“That’s why there’s more than one,” Geoff said calmly. “Just try again.”

Oh, good point. Gavin tossed the ruined bag aside and picked up a new one. He was more careful this time, biting into it, feeling his teeth slip through the plastic easily. It was sweeter than water, more fulfilling. Gavin had never tasted anything quite like it before, something so delicious. Oh god, he was so hungry, so thirsty. It was so good.

The bag emptied out way too quickly, and he grabbed for the last one. That one, too, he sucked down in seconds. It was then, and only then, he felt satisfied.

It was then, and only then, he realized what he had just drank.

Gavin shot up from the ground, stumbled against the wall and pressed his back into it. He covered his mouth with a hand, his eyes wide as his gaze roved across the bloody scene in front of him, to the door where Geoff peered in—and behind him, Gavin’s friend and the stranger watched over his shoulder. Geoff flinched when Gavin met his eyes.

“I’m gonna vom,” Gavin said, his voice thick. He could still taste the blood in his mouth. And even worse—he wanted more.

“You better not,” said the stranger. “Not after all the trouble we went through to get you fed safely.”

Gavin slammed his fists against the wall and bared his teeth at the stranger. “And who the hell are you?” he demanded, his words ripping out of his throat in a growl.

The stranger seemed more amused than bothered. “You should really clean up,” he said. “You’ve got blood all over your—”

“This is Burnie,” Geoff said quickly. “He’s an old friend.”

“I don’t want him here,” Gavin spat. He still bared his teeth—like an animal!—but he was so angry he couldn’t make himself stop. His whole body shivered with rage.

“Gavin…”

“Make him leave!”

“Well, you heard the kid,” said Burnie, turning.

“No, no, wait,” Geoff said, grabbing Burnie's arm and turning him back around. “We need you to help him. There’s no one else we can trust.”

“ _Geoff_ ,” Burnie said. Some sort of sadness weighted his words. “What do you want me to _do,_ man? Let him go. If you can’t end him yourself, let one of our old colleagues find him on a frenzied rampage.”

“Hey!” Gavin shouted. He still shook, but for a different reason now. Geoff looked like he was considering Burnie’s words, and an uncomfortable concoction of emotions brewed in Gavin’s stomach. “I’m right here!”

Burnie stepped right up to the window. Gavin wrinkled his nose at him, but Burnie’s expression was serious and sober.

“You want me to talk to you?” he asked. “You won’t like it, but if you want to hear it… You are no longer alive and no longer human. Some say you’re not even Gavin anymore. You are a monster living through a corpse, chained to life by a thirst for blood. You might be lucky to be friends with Geoff. If anyone else had found you, you might not have woken up agai—”

“ _Burnie!_ ” Geoff snapped. The two old friends began to bicker, but Gavin had stopped listening. The sound roared in his ears indecipherably. He stared at the mess of blood on the ground. He let his mouth fall open and prodded his teeth, feeling a sharp point jab into his finger. Fangs.

“Shut up, both of you!” Jack demanded suddenly, stepping between Geoff and Burnie. “You’re making everything worse!”

Geoff and Burnie quieted and had the decency to look cowed. And then everyone’s eyes were back on Gavin, and Gavin became hyperaware of how cut off he was. Alone in a cell, fed through a mail slot, his view of his friends partially obscured by bars.

“Um,” he said quietly. “Can I be let out now?”

“I’m sorry, Gavvers,” Geoff said. “I want to. I really do. But this is for our safety as much as yours.”

Gavin approached the door, grabbed the silver-coated bars. It would make him tired, according to Geoff, but he just wanted to put his face closer to his friends. Here, the scents were stronger. They weren’t as overpowering, but only because he stood at a buffet when full. If he concentrated, he could separate the mingling scents, tell which ones came from who. Michael smelled a touch like cinnamon. Ryan was something sweet, like sea salt cookies, whereas Geoff was more bitter. Lindsay smelled fresh, and Jack smelled a bit salty and warm. Then Jeremy was somewhat sharp like ginger.

It all made him queasy.

“Why can’t I leave?” Gavin asked. He held Geoff’s gaze. If he was pathetic enough, surely Geoff would take pity and let him out. “Why am I a prisoner?”

“Because,” Geoff said. He flinched. “Maybe this won’t sound silly to you now, given what you’ve experienced, but… someone turned you into a vampire. They killed you and brought you back. If we let you out now, you’ll lose it again.”

Again? Oh—Gavin remembered earlier. When he had grabbed the bars and tried to rip the door off. Again… Gavin let go of the bars and took a step back. Maybe he shouldn’t try for pity. If vampires were anything like stories, and he was one now… maybe he shouldn’t be let out.

“You won’t have to stay in there forever,” Geoff promised. “We’ll help you manage yourself again. So that you _won’t_ go into a frenzy and potentially kill someone.”

Gavin stared at him for a while, and Geoff didn’t move.

“Who killed me?” Gavin asked. “Who made me into this?”

Geoff shook his head, licked his lips and shut his eyes for a second.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But you can be damn sure I’m gonna find out.”

“We’ll help,” Jack said, putting a hand on Geoff’s shoulder and squeezing it. “We all will.”

Gavin sat down where he stood, sat cross-legged on the floor and stared at his lap.

“Okay,” he said. He pressed his shaking hands into his thighs. He looked up again. “Could you—get me some things from my apartment? Some clothes, and—and things to do in here.”

Geoff gave him the saddest look Gavin had ever seen him give anyone. “Yes. Of course we will. I’ll send a few of us to do that right now.”

“Okay,” Gavin said. “Thank you.”

“Of course, buddy.”


	2. The Interim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! This story has been at one chapter for far too long, haha. I meant to update this a little sooner, but oh well.
> 
> Friendly reminder that somehow I still think vampires are cool.

“So you’re gonna teach us to fight, right?” Jeremy asked as they all headed away from Gavin’s cell. Geoff stopped walking to stare at them all in the hallway. Burnie laughed.

“What!” Geoff cried. “No!”

“Why the fuck not?” Jack demanded, and Geoff jumped. “When it was just me, I understood. But this is bigger now. You’d be actively putting all of us in danger.”

“And we’re _not_ ditching Gavin,” Michael said, crossing his arms.

“You’ve done it this time!” Burnie cackled. “You’ll be continuing our legacy!”

Geoff rubbed his forehead. “You’re not gonna give this up, are you.”

“Nope,” said Michael.

“At least teach us how to help Gavin,” Ryan reasoned. “We should be able to do at least that much.”

Geoff studied them. His bright blue eyes looked tired, and for a few moments he didn’t seem to see them. But then he blinked, and his eyes focused again.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll teach you how to help and protect yourselves from Gavin. I brought you all into this mess, so I should be the one who makes sure we all get through it alive. Jack…” Geoff turned to him and tossed him a set of keys. “You still remember the basics, right?”

“Of course,” said Jack, catching and pocketing the keys. “Might be a little out of shape and rusty, but I still remember everything.”

“Good,” said Geoff. “Then here’s what we’ll do. Some of you go to Gavin’s apartment and grab his things. Everyone else needs to grab some supplies from the store—cleaning shit and first aid stuff. Jack, I’ll text you a shopping list, then you take them to the training room. Start them on the vampire basics. Everything there _should_ still be in working condition. I have to draw up a game plan concerning Gavin.”

“Got it,” said Jack. He motioned to the others. “Everyone, follow me.”

“Are you planning on me sticking around?” they heard Burnie ask as they walked away.

“I can’t force you to stay,” Geoff sighed. “But I could really use your help right now.”

Burnie’s voice was quiet, but they still heard him say, “I can use my connections to get you blood bags. But that’s it. I can’t go through this again.”

“Thanks buddy. I owe you.”

“You really don’t.”

* * *

 

There was a small concrete area outside the building’s front doors that served as a parking lot. Michael hadn’t gotten a good look at it before, when it was the dead of night, but now the morning sun was leaving the horizon behind and drowning the world in light.

The off-white building looked like a bunch of differently sized rectangular buildings decided to merge into one. At some areas it was two stories tall, and in some spots it was three. One section was even four stories. At a glance, the facility matched the other factories on this northern edge of the city, both abandoned and not (but mostly abandoned). A chain-link fence lined the perimeter, with a missing gate large enough for two cars to drive through. There was extra space for vehicles on a plot of concrete land on the other side of the fence, but the parking area near the front entrance was more than enough for them.

The entrance was wide and windowed—oddly friendly for how closed off the rest of the building seemed. Rust smudged above the entryway in shapes that used to be letters, but were now unreadable.

“Jack,” said Ryan slowly as they all looked back at the entrance. “How does an organization with a building like this just… fall apart?”

Michael glanced at Ryan, for once staying quiet. He had accepted Geoff’s words at face value, but if Ryan had questions… Michael felt like he was missing something.

Jack sighed. “I don’t know. Geoff had… taken me under his wing, so to speak. But I never made it here or officially joined the Hunters. Geoff tried, but one day he came back and just… said he wasn’t a Hunter anymore, and the organization was dead.”

Ryan frowned and hummed to himself.

“I can’t believe you never told us you guys hunt vampires!” Jeremy exclaimed. He mimed boxing, throwing a few punches in the air. “We’ve known you for years and never knew you were badass.”

“What, I’m not badass now?” Jack asked.

“ _Jack_ ,” Jeremy said, dropping his hands. “Come on.”

Jack chuckled. “But actually,” he added, sobering. “It’s not exactly something you bring up in casual conversation.”

“Uh, if vampires have been a thing this whole time,” said Lindsay, “then why haven’t we seen any before? Especially since, you know, there’s no more ‘Hunters?’”

“A variety of reasons, I’m sure,” Jack said with a shrug. “They’re pretty careful about how they hunt. And I’m sure there’s still Hunters around, it’s just not an organization anymore. I don’t know everything. It could just be chance. Anyway, enough dallying. Who’s gonna go to Gavin’s and get his stuff, and who’s going to the store with me?”

“I’ll go to Gavin’s,” Michael said automatically.

“I’ll come with,” said Jeremy.

Jack nodded, unsurprised by those answers. “Lindsay and Ryan with me, then?”

“Alright,” Ryan grumbled. Michael raised an eyebrow. _Someone_ wasn’t satisfied. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Gavin paced his cell, counting his footsteps as they echoed around the small area. Short wall was eight footsteps long. Long wall was fifteen steps short. He had to go around the bed and the toilet, but that didn’t add too many footsteps.

There was nothing to do. There was nothing to do, and Gavin was bored out of his mind. Geoff and the others were gone, their scents still lingering outside his cell. He picked a hole into the side seam of his shirt. He poked at his new fangs—sometimes they were there, and sometimes they weren’t, like a cat’s claw. It was a new feeling, an achy feeling. He sat on the edge of the bed and massaged his gums, trying to get used to shoving his fangs out by will.

He paced his room. He tore at the seam of his shirt, feeling the little pops as the thread broke. He chewed his nails. The walls scratched, a little scrabbling noise. He slapped the wall, listened to the sound scurry away. _Scritch scratch scratch_. It was too loud. He bared his teeth, followed the sound. His turn to scratch at the wall. Dug at it with his fingers. Slammed his fist into the source of the sound. Gavin yelled. It scurried away.

“ _Gavin!_ ”

He jumped. Geoff was at the door. He blinked and shook his head.

“What are you doing, buddy? You can’t break those walls.”

“There was a sound,” Gavin admitted. “It was too loud, and I… what?” He stopped. It sounded stupid. His face felt hot, and he sat down on the bed and hid it in his hands.

“I think this place has mice,” said Burnie, appearing next to Geoff. “Saw one of those fuckers running around.”

“Oh, I see,” Geoff said. “I’ll set up traps. You okay in there Gavvy?”

“I’m bored!” Gavin cried, sitting up to shout at the ceiling. “There’s too much, and I’m bored!” God, that probably didn’t even make sense to anyone.

“You haven’t adjusted to your new senses yet,” Burnie said. “You hear a little better, you notice movement better—and I don’t even have to mention the smell, do I.”

“Things might be a little overwhelming for a bit,” Geoff said. “But you’ll adapt, I promise, buddy. The others will be back soon with your things.”

“Stay with me until then,” Gavin pleaded. “You don’t have to come in, I—just keep me company.”

Geoff smiled with a sad look in his eyes. “Of course,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

* * *

 

“Do you see his phone charger?” Jeremy called as he picked his way around Gavin’s tiny apartment. The place was clean, but entirely cluttered. Gavin had a lot of shit, and almost none of it was put away—something his one-bedroom apartment couldn’t really afford. He snatched the bundled up blanket on the couch, only to reveal a second blanket underneath. He sighed and folded both over the back of the couch.

“Not yet!” Michael replied from the bedroom. “Does his cell even have outlets? _Fucking Christ_ , Gavin, why have you never picked up any of your clothes in your fucking life? I’ve nearly tripped five times.”

“I almost wish we could clean this place for him,” Jeremy said, lifting a book with a blank piece of paper sticking out of it. He shrugged the empty backpack off his shoulders and shoved the book into it. Then he spotted Gavin’s laptop hidden under an empty Amazon box, and he quickly shoved that and the power cord into the backpack too.

“I would,” Michael grumbled, emerging from the bedroom with a backpack stuffed full of clothes and toiletries. “But we don’t have the fucking time.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy sighed, looking mournfully at the mess on the coffee table. “Still can’t find the phone charger, though.”

“Gavin’s upset,” Michael said. He shrugged. His frustration with the state of Gavin’s apartment seemed to have evaporated, and now the backpack seemed extra heavy on his shoulders. “We shouldn’t waste time if we don’t need to. He can borrow one of ours if he needs it.”

“I’d be upset too!” Jeremy agreed. “He’s undead, his friends are learning out to defend themselves against him, and it’s not likely he’ll return to normal life soon. Not to mention _we_ have to adjust our lives, too, to help out. Our jobs, our other friends…”

“We’ll worry about that later,” Michael said with a wince. “Let’s go already.”

Jeremy snatched up a couple more books before slinging the backpack over his shoulders. He wasn’t sure which ones Gavin had read already, but he figured it couldn’t hurt. He followed Michael out of the apartment, pausing only to let Michael lock it up again.

“Hopefully he can get out of that cell soon,” Jeremy said as they headed for the stairs. “He’s being kept prisoner by his own friends, for fuck’s sake!”

“I think he gets it, though,” Michael said, pushing through the apartment building’s front doors and heading for his car parked on the street. “Like. Not _happy_ about it, but he understands. Besides, Geoff’s still over there, and you _know_ Geoff won’t be able to resist checking up on him for very long.”

Jeremy nodded. Michael opened the back door of his car, and they both tossed the backpacks in the back seat. “He enjoys being like an older brother way too much, that’s for sure.”

“The real question,” Michael said, grinning, “is if Jack has killed Ryan yet.”

Jeremy laughed as he got into the front seat. “Oh, you _know_ Ryan’s going to be a pissy little shit.”

* * *

  

Jack lifted the basic first aid kit off the shelf and flipped it over, examining its contents. As far as contents went, it probably wasn’t enough to cover _everything_ , but buying a kit for every human seemed like a good start. As a bonus, everyone could then have a small bag with their name on it that they can keep, either for use on themselves or on another. It would at least help with bites and cuts. He picked out six kits and tossed them in the cart.

“Burnie said he didn’t want to do this again,” started Ryan, and Jack inwardly groaned. “And Geoff used to _hunt_ vampires. How far back do they go?”

“Maybe they’re long lost lovers with a quarrel,” Lindsay suggested.

“Can we not do this in a _Target_?” Jack asked. “These seem like questions to ask Geoff.”

“Excuse me for wanting to know things!” Ryan exclaimed.

“Well the only answer you’re going to get from me is: ‘it is what it is.’ Because that’s all I really know and that’s all I really care about,” Jack snapped. “Now please go find the items I asked you to find.”

Ryan grumbled and pulled out his phone to look at the shopping list. As he walked away, disappearing into the shelves, Jack sighed. Was he going to be this big of an inquisitive pain the whole time? Trying to dig into Geoff’s past wasn’t going to help the present.  It didn’t matter how the organization fell, and it didn’t matter how Burnie fit into all this. He glowered at the contents of his shopping cart. What mattered now was Gavin.

“Hey Jack?” Lindsay said quietly, jerking him out of his train of thought.

“Hm?”

“Is it too late to say I’m really overwhelmed and scared?”

Oh.

“Of course not.” Jack pursed his lips, pushing the shopping cart steadily as Lindsay strolled next to it. She had _seemed_ gung ho about this training stuff, especially if it meant helping Gavin… His heart felt heavy. He hadn’t wished these sorts of feelings on anyone. “It’s not too late to go home either, and leave worrying about Gavin to us.”

She shook her head. “No way. It’s not that, I… guess I’m more scared _for_ Gavin. None of this feels real right now. Like, reality feels so… _fake_. Like I’m on the set of a sitcom. And that’s just me still being human! Gavin _died_.”

Jack found himself sighing again as he picked up a package of gauze. “Linds, I’ll be honest. I was much the same way, all those years ago. My whole world got turned upside down very suddenly.” He turned to her and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “It will get better with time. Don’t worry.”

Lindsay smiled. “Thanks Jack. I’m sure it’ll be a lot easier with all of you around, too.”

Jack nodded and beamed. “I think you’re right.” He glanced down the aisle to see Ryan approaching them, glowering as he held a large pile of fabric. “Oh good! Mr. Grumpy Gills is back with the towels.”

* * *

 

Michael and Jeremy got back to the weird prison-like building before Jack and the others. Michael didn’t even wait for Jeremy, but went straight for Gavin’s cell. Jeremy had to jog to catch up, but Michael didn’t care. He hurried through the front doors and sprinted through the aged white halls, backpack swinging on his shoulders.

When he reached Geoff, who was sitting against the silver door with the meal slot in the bottom propped up with a stick, he was out of breath. He took a moment, gasping, and Geoff stood to greet him.

“We’re back,” Michael said. Gavin’s face appeared at the barred window in the door, and when he grinned, Michael could see his new fangs. Michael smiled back despite himself. Reuniting with Gavin felt like returning home, in a way. It felt like he was _supposed_ to be here.

“Michael-boi!” Gavin cried happily. Jeremy’s footsteps echoed behind Michael, announcing his arrival. “Jeremy! You brought my stuff!”

“Is Jack back yet?” Geoff asked.

Michael shook his head. “He and the other two must still be at the store. I got you some clean clothes, Gavvy, so you can get out of those fucking prison scrubs.”

“I got you some stuff to do, too,” Jeremy added between breaths, slinging his backpack from his shoulders and holding it up in front of him.

“Ah! You’re the best!” Gavin squealed. He reached his hand through the bars and made grabby motions. “Gimme! These clothes are so awful, Michael.”

Geoff chuckled. “Back up, buddy. The silver is bad for you, remember.”

Gavin retreated. Michael couldn’t help but frown at Geoff in confusion. Gavin didn’t _seem_ all that different—except for the occasional fangs and red eyes. Gavin’s frenzy earlier that morning felt so long ago now. Geoff saw his face and shook his head, holding up a hand.

“He’s lucid now,” Geoff said, not even bothering to lower his voice. Michael saw Gavin peek through the window again, impatient to see his friends once more. “He’s fed, so his instinct to hunt shouldn’t be strong, and I’ve been chatting to him for a while, so he should be rather calm. But we all still have to be careful. You don’t know how easy it is to lose it.”

“Are we just gonna talk about him like he’s not staring at us again?” Jeremy said, gesturing at the door. Gavin gave a little wave.

“He’s _fine_ ,” Michael said.  Gavin grinned again, his fangs poking over his lip.

“Alright Gavvers,” Geoff said. “Back up again. I’ll open the door so we can give you your things, but you have to promise to stay back, okay?”

“Aww,” groaned Gavin. “Okay…”

A few moments after Gavin disappeared from the window, Geoff reached out and heaved the door open. It swung outward, and Geoff nodded at Michael and Jeremy. “Go on, throw them in.”

Gavin stood with his back against the opposite wall. His smile had faded, and he watched Michael and Jeremy with interest. Jeremy tossed them in, a lad following Geoff’s orders. As Michael leaned in to lay the backpack on the ground next to the doorway, he heard Gavin sniff.

“You smell so nice today, Michael-boi,” Gavin cooed. Michael felt a chill run down his spine. He stared, riveted in place.

“I’m sure he does,” said Geoff. He grabbed Michael’s shoulder and pulled him back. The door shut before Michael could think of a response. “You two go see if the others are back yet. If not, give Jack a call and ask how long he’ll be.”

“Sure thing, Geoff,” Jeremy said.

“Aww, bye lads,” Gavin said, peeking through the barred window again. “Thanks for bringing me my stuff!”

“No problem! See you later!” Jeremy called.

Michael followed Jeremy as they meandered back to the entrance hall. He couldn’t get the image of Gavin standing still as a statue at the other end of his little room out of his head. Eyes locked on _him._ It wasn’t right—wasn’t natural. It was… inhuman. _It was Gavin, though._ It was still Gavin.

Right?


	3. The Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [wakes up in a cold sweat] if I don't update this story at least once during Halloween month then WHAT'S THE POINT????

Michael and Jeremy waited in the front hall for Jack and the others to return from shopping. There were a couple hard plastic benches attached to the walls there, next to and across from a windowed front office to the right of the doors. The hall stretched further into the building towards a main staircase, the center of which led to the second floor, and had two narrower staircases on either side leading to the basement floor. A hallway also crossed perpendicular in front of the staircase, leading to other parts of the first floor. Dust coated everything, but somehow none of the glass windows were broken.

Michael didn’t feel much like talking, but that didn’t stop Jeremy from trying. He chatted nigh incessantly, a stream-of-consciousness babble about the building, about Gavin’s new un-life, about what other sorts of creatures might exist as well as vampires. Michael didn’t mind; he was glad for the distraction, and supplied any necessary grunts to keep the “conversation” going. Regardless, it didn’t take long for Jack’s car to pull up in the parking lot. Michael and Jeremy immediately hopped up and went outside to greet them.

“Oh good!” Jack said, getting out of the driver’s seat. “You can help bring everything to the break room. Now we only need to make one trip!”

“Hey!” Lindsay said, getting out of the front passenger side and closing the distance between her and Michael. They grinned at each other and touched foreheads. “Were you waiting long?”

“Nah,” said Michael. “Twenty, maybe thirty minutes.”

“I’m assuming you’ve seen Gavin then?” Jack asked as Ryan crawled out of the back seat and leaned against the car’s hood. “How is he?

Michael hesitated, so Jeremy spoke first. “He seems okay for now. Geoff’s been keeping him company.”

Jack nodded. “Good. Then let’s get these supplies to the break room and head to the training gym.”

“Aww,” Lindsay groaned. “I can’t go see Gavin too?”

“You can see him later,” Jack said firmly. “Geoff’s told me he’s gonna get him to sleep soon, so we can use this time wisely.”

“Sleep!?” Ryan exclaimed. “He’s dead. Why does he need to sleep?”

Jack sighed. “He’s _undead_ , dude. Vampires can stay awake longer, but they still need sleep too, and Gavin’s been through a lot.”

Lindsay pouted but didn’t argue. She walked around the car to the trunk and yanked it open. They all chatted about nothing as they carried the new supplies to the break room. From there, Jack grabbed the bag with all the towels and led everyone downstairs.

They descended through the building to follow Jack to a large room. Judging from its narrow windows at the very top of its walls, it was mostly underground. It reminded Michael of a high school gym without any bleachers. Where bleachers would have been, long empty weapon racks lined the walls. The lights amazingly still worked, but the whole place reeked of must and old wood.

The locker room and showers were through a pair of double doors to the left of the main entrance, though Jack informed them that it would take a few days for the heated water to turn on again. Several other doors were set in the walls as well. The ones with windows were a couple other entrances, and the ones without were storage. Jack went up to one of these last ones, another set of double doors, unlocked it, and heaved it open.

“Geoff said there should be… Ah-ha, here. Michael, Jeremy, can you come help me with this?” Jack asked.

Michael jogged over with Jeremy and helped Jack pull out a series of thick, blue mats and lay them over the hardwood floor. Then Jack gestured to two ladders leaning against the wall of the closet.

“We should let the mats air out for a bit,” Jack said. “Can you two use these ladders to open the windows and get some airflow in here? Then I can go over some basics about vampires.”

Michael and Jeremy obeyed quickly, heaving the ladders around as Jack, Ryan, and Lindsay watched. With each open window, a breath of fresh air washed over Michael’s face, and he hovered there for a few seconds just to let the breeze filter through the screen. When all the narrow windows were open, he and Jeremy rejoined the others to stand in a loose half circle in front of Jack.

“First of all,” Jack said, “they’re not necessarily stronger or faster than you, but they will far outlast you. So for example, if you had an arm wrestling match with a vampire who was just as strong as you, the vampire would eventually win simply because you’ll tire faster. They can hear and smell better than us. They can’t see _farther_ than us, but they’re better at detecting motion and at seeing in the dark.”

“Spooky,” Lindsay muttered. “Gavin can do all that now?”

“But that means they’d be more sensitive to light, right?” Ryan pointed out.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, bright light can blind them temporarily, and they don’t like being out in sunlight due to that sensitivity.”

“So Gavin won’t burst into flames in the sun!” Michael said. “We just need to get him some decent shades.”

“And what else are they weak to?” Jeremy asked. “Crosses? Garlic? Can they cross running water?”

“They can cross water just fine,” Jack said, frowning at Jeremy, who seemed just a little too eager to learn how to beat a vampire. “Silver, as you know, weakens them. Crosses by themselves don’t do anything unless the vampire has developed an anathema, but according to Geoff that doesn’t happen often nowadays. So crosses aren’t useful unless they’re silver. Anything with an overpowering smell like garlic can be used as a deterrent, but it won’t stop a vampire who _really_ wants you.”

“Anathema?” Michael repeated.

“It’s like a strong hatred of something,” Ryan said.

“Oh.” Michael blinked. “Do you think Gavin will have one?”

Ryan shrugged.

“Right,” continued Jack. “So to actually kill them you have to either behead them, deal sufficient damage to the brain, or pierce their heart.”

“Not much different from humans, when all’s said and done,” Ryan noted.

“Sort of,” Jack said. “Except with vampires, if you stab their lung or their stomach, they just keep going. And the blood loss only edges them closer to a frenzy, and then you’re really in trouble.”

 _Frenzy_. Like how Gavin had acted when he first woke up. Michael shivered and reached for his wife’s hand. Except he got the feeling that as far as frenzies went, the one they had witnessed was tame. Borderline.

“Great,” Lindsay said, looking pale. She gave Michael’s hand a squeeze. “So now you’re gonna teach us how to kill Gavin?”

“I’m going to teach you self-defense,” Jack said firmly. “We’re not trying to kill anyone here. Besides, that’s actually pretty much all I know. That’s all Geoff was able to teach me before the organization fell, so I never really went beyond that. But I’m going to teach you how to get away from one. If you can get away and get somewhere public, they should give up the chase.”

The doors to the gymnasium opened with groaning creaks, and all faces turned towards the main entrance. Geoff walked through, weariness deepening the shadows around his eyes.

“I finally convinced Gavin to try to sleep,” he said. He approached them and stopped to stand next to Jack. “I think, with everyone’s schedules, it would be best if he slept through the day while we’re all at work, and then in the evenings and nights, we’ll be with him.”

“And when do we sleep?” Ryan asked, crossing his arms.

“In shifts,” Geoff said, mirroring Ryan’s stance. “We don’t all have to be here all the time. But if _you_ want to help _Gavin_ , you have to dedicate yourself to this. At least until he’s got enough control over himself to be let out unsupervised. I never said this would be easy.”

Ryan opened his mouth to reply, but Michael talked over him. “So what do we do Geoff? What’s the plan to help Gavin?”

Geoff hesitated, getting that far off look in his eyes again. But then he blinked and glanced at them all, and Michael wondered if he had imagined it. “The end goal is getting Gavin reintegrated in society. First, though, we learn how to get away from a vampire. Once you’re all adequate enough, we can start interacting with Gavin more and start letting him out into the rest of the facility. Until then, we’ll keep him company and help him remember his humanity. It may not seem like it yet, but it’s very easy for a vampire to forget. To get lost.

“This will be difficult,” he said again. “But it’ll be way fucking easier with everyone available. I can’t tell you how long this will take. So I ask everyone—are you dedicated? It’s okay to say no. I just need to know—are you dedicated to helping Gavin?”

He looked at each person in turn, his gaze lingering on the crabby Ryan. Michael was the first to affirm. It was an instant answer, an answer he felt deep in his soul. He wasn’t leaving Gavin behind and that was that. Soon after Michael answered, each person agreed that they would stay.

“Of course I will,” Ryan added, when Geoff raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m _grumpy_ , not _disloyal_. Wanting to know what the fuck is going on doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. Gavin is as much my friend as any of you!”

“Okay, alright,” Geoff said, raising his hands defensively. “I believe you, and I’m sorry for ever doubting. Ryan, you’re a good friend, and I’m glad to have your help.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road!” Jeremy said. “The sooner we nail this whole self-defense shit, the sooner we can get back to Gavin.”

Geoff sighed and stepped back to face Jack. “Alright. Let’s work on the frontal assault techniques. Jack, come at me like you’re going for my neck. Everyone else, watch my feet and hands.”

The two of them backed up from each other, then Jack charged at Geoff. Geoff waited until Jack was almost upon him, then he pivoted on one foot to sidestep, his other foot stabilizing him as he grabbed Jack’s closest arm and shoulder and shoved. Jack stumbled past Geoff, losing his balance and tumbling to the floor. Geoff turned back to the others as Jack got back to his feet.

“If you see a vampire coming,” Geoff said, “the best thing to do is redirect. Especially if they’re not that bright. The hungrier they are, the easier it is to dodge their charges, since they usually opt for the fastest and most direct path. Get past them, and get away. Understand?”

“Yes, Geoff,” the others chorused.

Geoff demonstrated the move again, then had Jack demonstrate the move a couple more times. Once explained thoroughly, the rest paired up to practice. Michael faced Lindsay, and Jeremy faced Ryan. Geoff and Jack walked around, giving advice. Jeremy and Lindsay both nailed it almost immediately, but Michael kept letting Lindsay shoulder into him. Ryan, meanwhile, leapt out of the way too soon, and Jeremy would just skid to change his momentum and tackle him.

The twelfth time Lindsay knocked into Michael because he didn’t redirect her well enough, Michael stomped his foot. “Jesus fucking Christ!” he yelled. “Can we please just fucking move on from this one?”

“ _Please_ ,” Ryan added from the floor where Jeremy sat on top of him. “Surely there are other things to practice.”

“Wanted to give the practice mats more time to air…” Geoff mused, “but I guess we can learn tosses.”

“Only if I’m the one throwing you,” Jack said, massaging his shoulder.

Geoff laughed. “Sure, buddy.”

Jack stood on one of the mats and put his back to Geoff. Geoff sprinted at Jack and leapt at him. Michael hadn’t ever seen either of them move so fast before. The moment Geoff grabbed at Jack’s throat, Jack grabbed Geoff’s arm, planted his feet, and twisted to throw him over his shoulder. Geoff flipped through the air and landed flat on his back.

“That one’s a bit harder to get the hang of,” Geoff wheezed from the mat. He stretched out his hand and waved it lazily from where he lay. “But you don’t have to be strong to do it. If a vampire latches onto you, you can also try to jab at their eyes or something.”

“‘Or something,’” Ryan quoted.

“What do you want me to say?” Geoff snapped. “They still have pain receptors, you moron. Just hit them.”

“I think we could all use a break, actually” Jack said. He extended his hand to Geoff, who took it, and helped Geoff up.  “Geoff and I can scrounge up more training materials, and everyone else just hang out. I left the snacks we bought in the breakroom.”

“Oh hell yeah,” Lindsay said. “Snack time.”

Lindsay grabbed Michael’s hand, and together they left the gymnasium. Ryan and Jeremy followed a bit slower, and the moment the doors swung shut behind them, Jeremy turned to his friend.

“What do you say about exploring a bit?” Jeremy asked, grinning wickedly.

“Aww,” Ryan pouted, “but we bought Cheez-its.”

“The Cheez-its will be there _later_ ,” Jeremy said, giving Ryan a playful shove. “There’s this huge ass building and we’ve only seen a small part of it.”

The hallway was long and dusty white until they would reach the main staircase, lit by overhead fluorescent lights. Some of the lights were out, creating dim patches, but it was still well-illuminated. Other hallways crossed their paths, but their lights hadn’t turned on, so they rapidly descended into darkness. Ryan considered their situation all the way until they reached the main staircase, a series of white marble sweeping up in a perpendicular direction to the first floor.

“I’m gonna be honest,” Ryan said. “This place kind of freaks me out.”

“But that’s why we go together!” Jeremy insisted as they started their climb. This part of the stair was narrow enough that the only railing was attached to the wall, covered in chipped dark paint. “It’s fucking creepy! I wanna see it.”

Ryan chuckled. They emerged onto the first floor, to the airier front hall. Sunlight beamed in through the glass front doors, a brightness that hurt to look at. “I guess we can explore a little,” Ryan said. “This place is massive, though. I don’t want to go too far.”

“No, yeah,” Jeremy agreed. “We’ll get you your Cheez-its before Geoff and Jack call us back. Gavin’s on the second floor, right? And the breakroom is on the first. We’ll just explore some of the first floor for now.”

“Alright,” Ryan sighed. “Lead the way, explorer man.”

The initial hallways leading off of the front hall was lined with what seemed to be old offices. Most were completely empty, but a few still had an old desk pushed against one wall. Overall, _boring_. What was this, an office building?

They breezed past the offices and wandered deeper into the building. Jeremy marched confidently on, barely glancing into the small rooms lining the hallways, and Ryan meekly followed, his skin crawling. Jeremy seemed to be looking for something specific—or, perhaps, merely something that looked interesting.

Towards the center of the building, where they had to hunt for light switches, they found it. Two doors were right next to each other, and Jeremy opened one and peeked inside. He froze for a moment, then pulled back and looked at Ryan.

“Dude, check it out,” he said. “It’s like one of those police interrogation rooms with the two-sided mirror.”

Jeremy flung the door open, letting it swing wide into the room. It was dark beyond, but the light from the hallway illuminated enough for Ryan to make out a control panel and desk underneath a window as well as a few chairs left abandoned until Jeremy found the light switch. A chill crawled up Ryan’s spine as he entered behind Jeremy. The window showed a room with a chair that reminded Ryan of a dentist’s chair—but with more cuffs. There seemed to be two cuffs for each limb—one made out of tarnished silver, and one out of rusted iron. A single shattered bulb swung above the chair.

“Geoff used to work here?” Ryan breathed. “This looks like a torture chamber.”

“Or another kind of containment, yeah,” Jeremy said, leaning down to study the control panel. There were a series of buttons and switches, but the panel wasn’t powered. In fact, it was singed, as though it had short-circuited and fried itself.

Ryan shivered. “I think I’ve seen enough for today,” he said, rubbing his arms.

“Really?” Jeremy said. He straightened and turning back towards Ryan. “But _you’re_ the one who’s been all, ‘Oh Geoffrey, don’t you hide any secrets from me.’”

“Yeah, I…” Ryan glanced at the chair again. He felt a cold spot brush across his cheek and he jumped, heart racing. Jeremy frowned and glanced around, but saw nothing that would have made Ryan spook. “I don’t like this room.”

“Alright,” Jeremy said, shrugging. “We should return to the break room anyway.”

The moment Jeremy agreed, Ryan turned on his heel and exited the room. They retraced their steps through the halls, flipping the lights off as they went, and made their way back to the break room where Lindsay and Michael waited, sipping Capri Sun at one of the round tables with the grocery bags. Ryan couldn’t help but relax with relief at Geoff’s absence. He didn’t want to explain why he and Jeremy were snooping around the building. He got the feeling Geoff wouldn’t be terribly happy.

Michael, however, asked, “Where the fuck were you guys?”

“Exploring,” Jeremy said simply. He grabbed a Capri Sun for himself and threw himself down onto a free chair next to Lindsay. “There’re some weird rooms in here.”

“Oh I’m sure Geoff will love that you’ve been doing that,” Michael said, quirking an eyebrow. Lindsay giggled.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Jeremy argued. “This place has been abandoned for years. What are we really gonna fucking find?”

“He has a point,” Lindsay said.

Ryan shivered again and went for a small bag of Cheez-its


	4. The Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just having fun, so I hope you are too~

The days continued similarly. Some days, they were all there, training under the eye of Geoff or Jack or both. The other days, only a couple of them were at the large building at a time. Geoff seemed determined to make sure no one overworked themselves—everyone had days off, and time home. Even so, each one could feel themselves beginning to draw thin with the constant worry about Gavin.

Gavin himself tried to convince them he was fine. It was a straight week of _I feel fine_ and _You don’t need to worry_. On the surface he was flippant, trying very hard to be his old goofy self. Michael wasn’t convinced, but Gavin wasn’t giving anything up, so Michael did not know what to do about it. It was like trying to convince a brick wall it was sad. It was a straight week of _Let me out, I’m okay._

Geoff didn’t let anyone else take care of the blood bags. He got everyone’s blood type and filled a fridge with help from Burnie. The others brought real food for Gavin, in an attempt to re-acclimate his undead stomach to anything that wasn’t blood. It was rough going; everything tasted off to Gavin, and he sometimes refused to even try. Jeremy and Michael had the best luck getting him to eat—Michael’s very presence seemed to soothe him, whereas Jeremy could goad Gavin into eating things he didn’t want.

Geoff just got him a fresh blood bag every few days.

One day, Jack brought in two air mattresses and pumped them up in the breakroom. Everyone else added on to it, bringing some pillows and blankets, and soon they had a little nap corner. Geoff used it the most, but sometimes the others stayed up just a little too late, or came early for their shifts and prepared for a long night.

Jeremy explored more of the building a couple more times with Ryan, but after the third excursion, Ryan put his foot down. He thought someone had grabbed his hand, someone with ice cold fingers, but though he was convinced Jeremy was pranking him, Jeremy insisted it wasn’t him. Without Ryan, Jeremy was a lot less brave, though he explored one more time. Michael had no interest in joining Jeremy, and Lindsay preferred not to.

Ryan asked Jeremy about his final excursion, as they entered the building together after their respective day jobs, but Jeremy just shrugged. “This place is creepy,” he said, checking his social media on his phone, “but it’s all the same. Just a bunch of rooms and like, different types holding cells.”

“I mean, how much would really be left over?” Ryan reasoned.

Jeremy pouted. “ _Yeah,_ but a spooky place like this? I just hoped.”

They reached the break room but paused and didn’t open the door—Geoff and Michael were in there and chatting. They could hear their voices easily. Ryan met Jeremy’s eye and squinted. Michael wasn’t scheduled to be here yet.

“…I’m not so sure…” Michael said. “He doesn’t seem any better.”

“He’s still in denial,” Geoff said. “It’s only been what, two weeks? He’ll get there.”

“This doesn’t seem right,” Michael insisted. “How are you so sure he’ll ‘get there?”

“Michael…”

“He’s going fucking stir crazy! He needs room to breathe. Let him hang out with us without a fucking silver door between us.”

“No, you don’t under—”

“Oops!” Jeremy’s phone tumbled out of his hand and clattered to the floor. There was dead silence for a few moments as Ryan just _stared_ at Jeremy. Jeremy’s face flushed and he grinned. Then the door was ripped open, and Geoff glared at them. Michael was still seated at one of the round tables, his hands clasped together in front of him as he apparently fumed.

“Were you ever going to come say hi?” Geoff asked. “Or were you just going to fuck around out here?”

“Hi, Geoff,” Ryan muttered. “How are you.”

“I thought it wasn’t Michael’s turn to be here?” Jeremy pointed out.

“And I thought it wasn’t yours,” Geoff said. He glanced at Ryan, who held up both hands defensively.

“He wanted to carpool,” Ryan said quickly. “His shift is later anyway, so we just thought…”

“Fine, whatever,” Geoff snapped. “Guess we’ll have a whole fucking party here—Jack will be back soon with some human food. Gavin will likely be awake by then, if he isn’t already.”

“You haven’t _checked_?” Jeremy asked, his brow furrowing. Geoff rolled his eyes.

“I _would_ have,” he said, turning to glance at Michael, “if _some_ one hadn’t shown up just to pick a fight with me.”

“Okay, alright,” Ryan soothed, reaching out to grab Geoff’s shoulders and steering him a little further into the hallway. “It’s a very stressful situation and we _don’t_ need infighting already.”

“From the salt lord himself,” Geoff muttered, but he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, I need a fucking nap. You can take care of Gavin when he wakes?”

“Of course,” Ryan said. “You don’t have to be there _every_ time. Go get some rest; we’ll be quiet.”

* * *

 

“Look!” said Trevor, leaning forward to point past the steering wheel as though Matt couldn’t see the giant white building with three cards parked in front of it. “That’s gotta be Jeremy’s car!”

“I see it,” Matt said, rolling his eyes. He pressed the brakes and slowed the car to park on the road in front of the building. He wasn’t sure if it was actually legal to park there, but he hadn’t seen another soul since taking the highway exit and losing Jeremy’s car in the tired, dry landscape. He turned the car off and stepped out, Trevor following suit, stretching in the sun. “What could he be doing here? This place looks abandoned.”

“One way to find out!” Trevor said. “Let’s go.”

“No way, dude!” Matt said. “That place looks like some haunted mental facility. Just _call_ him.”

“Where’s your sense of _adventure?_ ” Trevor wiggled his eyebrows at Matt before marching confidently towards the front entrance. Matt sighed and followed.

The front door was locked. Trevor cupped his hands to the glass to peer into its dim interior as Matt stood a few paces back. Even from this distance, Matt could see a light on the staircase at the back of the lobby, but the windows were so dusty he couldn’t see much else.

“We can call him,” Matt reminded his friend.

“Not with your lock pick in your glove compartment,” Trevor said, smirking.

“ _No._ ”

“Oh, come on! He’s being a sneaky boy, he’ll just lie to us anyway.”

“Ugh. _Fine._ ”

Matt retrieved his small lock pick set from his car and returned to the door. As he knelt on the ground and stuck his picks in the lock, he muttered, “I don’t know how you keep convincing me to do these things.”

“That’s because I’m an enabler, Matt,” Trevor said cheerfully, his hands jammed in his pocket as he rocked on his heels. “It’s part of what I do.”

The door unlocked, and Matt shoved the lock pick set back into the pocket of his red hoodie. Trevor marched on ahead into the entrance lobby and hesitated just for a moment, trying to decide where to go. Most of the light inside came from the outside. But there _was_ the light coming from the second floor landing of the staircase, so that was where Trevor decided they should go. Matt, as reluctant as he was when they parked, just followed.

The second floor was also mostly dark, but another light shone around a corner down one direction. Trevor beckoned, and Matt whispered, quiet just because he felt like he should be, “I don’t like this, man. Why do I feel like I’m being led somewhere?”

“I don’t know about that, Matt,” Trevor quipped. “I think they just only use the lights they need. They’re eco-friendly!”

“…Sure.”

They turned the corner, and both of them stopped with a jolt. It was a line of evenly spaced silver doors with small barred windows and mail slots in the bottom.

“This is a jail,” Matt blurted. “What _is_ this place?”

Trevor took a step back. The hallway was lit fully, but it was apparently empty. “Hmm, yeah, guess no one’s here. Let’s look somewhere else.”

“Hello?”

Matt sucked in a gasp, and he heard Trevor do the same. A hand stuck out between one of the barred windows, and the tip of a nose was just barely visible as someone put their face close to the bars from the other side.

“A person!” Trevor exclaimed. He glanced at Matt, who caught his eye, and they both rushed down the hallway to the door. A young man stood on the other side, with sandy brown hair that stuck up in all directions and deep shadows under his eyes.

“Oh my god,” Matt said. “Are you okay?”

“What are you _doing_ in there?” Trevor asked.

The man blinked slowly. He couldn’t be much older than them. “My friends put me in here,” he said, “but there’s no door handle on this side.”

“Where are they now?” Matt asked. The man shrugged.

“That’s horrible!” Trevor cried. “We’ll get you out right now!”

He grabbed the door handle and yanked, the door groaning open. The young man inhaled a deep breath through his nose, grinned, and stepped out.

* * *

 

“Thanks, Jack!” Ryan said, taking the paper bag of Chipotle tacos from the other man. Geoff still snoozed in the corner, ignoring the fresh smell of his burrito bowl. He was sleeping like a log.

“No problem,” Jack said. “I would have picked up more had I realized Michael and Jeremy were also here…”

“Aw, Jack, it’s okay,” Jeremy said. “We know we’re off schedule. Michael and I can go grab something later, once Geoff is done napping.”

Ryan flicked them a two-fingered salute. “I’ll go take these to Gavin,” he said. “See you in a bit!”

“Good luck,” Michael called as Ryan pushed through the breakroom door. “Gavin threw a _huge_ bitch fit last time.”

Ryan winced; he remembered hearing about that. Two days ago, Michael had tried to get Gavin to eat a burger, and Gavin had thrown it back in Michael’s face and shouted at him. Gavin seemed to barely remember it happening at all, but it was his most extreme reaction yet. And normally he was _calmer_ in Michael’s presence…

Ryan hummed to himself as he strolled the now-familiar hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor. A song from Jeremy’s radio was stuck in his head, some new pop song with an unfortunately catchy chorus.

Ryan turned the corner and stopped. Two young men backed away from Gavin’s open door, both tall. One had shaggy brown hair and beard, and wore glasses and a red hoodie. The other had short black hair swept up away from his forehead and a narrow face. Gavin himself grinned a toothy grin as he approached. _Gavin was out. Two strangers were in. Vampire out. Vampire out. Innocents in front. Gavin out._ The bag slipped from Ryan’s hand.

The noise made one of the strangers’ head turn, the one in the red hoodie. Gavin ignored the sound, intent on the other man, who stepped back into the wall, his hands raised in front of him. The man in the red hoodie’s mouth dropped open, but Ryan was already charging.

“Gavin, no!” Ryan roared.

Gavin finally noticed him and turned to snarl. “Don’t ruin my _fun_.”

Ryan barely slowed down. He tackled Gavin and tried to ignore the guilt as Gavin’s slight frame crumpled under his heavier one. Gavin recovered much quicker than Ryan expected, though, and he found himself grappling the man underneath him. Gavin bared his teeth and snapped at Ryan, his bite never quite reaching. His eyes burned scarlet.

“On the first floor,” Ryan ordered, risking a glance at the two young men looking on in horror. “Back the way we came. Follow the lights to the break room. There’re people there—get help!”

The two men bolted back down the hallway. Gavin ripped one hand free from Ryan’s grapple and punched him across the jaw. The pain was a shock to Ryan’s senses, and it allowed Gavin the opportunity to shove him off. Ryan rolled onto his back, and before he knew it, Gavin straddled him.

“You’ll do,” Gavin growled, and lunged to sink his teeth in Ryan’s neck.

Ryan cried out as sharp fangs bit into the flesh at his neck. It pinched like fire, and he shoved both hands against Gavin’s throat. Gavin let go, choking as he retreated, blood already flecked on his lips. Ryan wriggled out from under him and stumbled to his feet, one hand pressed against the fresh wound at his neck.

It felt… weird. The wound tingled, and not unpleasantly so. Warmth spread across the muscles in his neck, and he steadied himself against the wall with his other hand as Gavin gasped for air on the ground. His heart pounded against his ribcage. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

Gavin whipped his head up, glaring at Ryan. At the same moment, something knocked against Ryan’s hand where it steadied him against the wall—he _swore_ later that something hit him. He staggered, suddenly off balance, giving Gavin the opportunity to leap.

The force of Gavin ramming into him knocked him against the wall. Gavin jumped off the floor completely, hooking his legs around Ryan’s hips as he went for Ryan’s neck again. The fangs dug in deep. Ryan’s knees gave out under Gavin’s unexpected weight, and they both collapsed to the floor. But Ryan didn’t feel pain anymore; the warmth from before intensified and spread through his muscle, encouraging him to _relax_. He feebly tried to push Gavin off, but Gavin resisted his hands easily. He sank further and further into the fog seeping into his brain.

* * *

 

The door to the breakroom burst open, and two men practically fell over themselves to enter.

“Upstairs!” shouted one.

“There’s a dude and he—”

“He’s got _red eyes!_ ”

“He told us to come here!”

Jack, Michael, and Jeremy had been sitting at a table while Geoff napped in the corner, but now all four of them scrambled to their feet.

“Matt? _Trevor?_ ” Jeremy cried.

“ _What’s going on?_ ” Geoff snapped. He strode past his three friends and glared at the two new arrivals. “What did you do? What did you see?”

Matt and Trevor straightened under Geoff’s glare. They glanced at each other, each motioning the other to continue. Geoff rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger at Trevor, who jumped. “You. Tell me what happened _now._ ”

“We—we were upstairs, and there was a guy in a room,” Trevor said, his voice wavering. “I let him out, and his eyes went all red and this other guy ran down the hallway and fucking _tackled_ him—”

“Ryan,” Jack whispered. Then, “ _You let Gavin out_!”

Geoff’s heart skipped a beat, a cold chill washing over the back of his neck. He met Jack’s eyes. He was already bolting out the door with Jack hot on his heels when he ordered, “Stay here!”

Geoff hadn’t run this fast since—he winced—since the organization fell apart. He raced to the staircase, up to the second floor, and towards the hallway with Gavin’s cell. When he rounded the corner, he skidded to a stop, frozen by what he saw. Jack nearly collided into him, but stopped himself just in time.

Ryan was crumpled against the wall, Gavin sitting on top of him with his head at Ryan’s neck. Ryan looked ashen, and Geoff feared the worst. How much time had passed? Was it enough for Ryan to lose too much blood? With how the two new guys had been in a rush, he didn’t think it was terribly long. He expected Ryan to still be struggling. _Unless…_

Geoff took off again, and Jack followed closely. He didn’t need to vocalize a plan; he knew he could count on Jack. If the organization hadn’t fallen—if his original team hadn’t broken apart, he and Jack would have made an unstoppable duo. But now they worked together to save one friend from another.

“Get off of him!” Geoff roared.

Gavin looked up at the sound, baring his teeth and snarling, his teeth slick with red. Geoff resisted his urge to smirk. Having Gavin willingly unlatch from Ryan’s neck made the next step easier. He closed the distance between them in a few long bounds and looped his arms around Gavin’s middle. He heaved, yanking Gavin away from Ryan. Gavin kicked and wriggled against Geoff’s grasp.

“Let me go!” Gavin screamed. “I’m not done!”

“Yes, you _are_ ,” Geoff grunted, stumbling back. He lowered Gavin so that his feet dropped to the floor, then let go and shoved him back towards his cell. Hard. Gavin stumbled, trying desperately to remain standing, but his feet couldn’t quite catch him. He fell, and Geoff was already turning away when Jack gave him one last push with his foot before closing the cell door again.

Gavin was up in a flash, hands gripping the bars of his window. His mouth was red—all red—too red. “This isn’t fair!” he whined. “Let me out!”

“ _Do you not see what you’ve done?_ ” Jack said, barely restraining himself from outright shouting. Still, his voice boomed, and Gavin shrank away from its volume, eyes wide.

Geoff crouched next to Ryan. The man was still breathing, but shallowly, and his eyes were closed as though he was sleeping. Blood welled at the two pairs of pinprick wounds at his neck, but the bleeding didn’t seem bad. The wounds would clot soon enough. Geoff pried back one of Ryan’s eyelids and shone his phone’s flashlight into his pupil.

“Fuck,” Geoff whispered. The pupil was dilated and didn’t shrink in the light. He glanced up at Jack. “Jack—I don’t think Ryan can help anymore.”

Jack stood very, very still. Geoff could see the muscle in his clenched jaw twitch. “Why?”

“I’ll explain later,” Geoff said. “Help me get him to the infirmary. He might need blood.”

* * *

 

“You guys _followed_ me?” Jeremy said. He paced back and forth in front of Matt and Trevor, who sat on two of the folding chairs side-by-side in the breakroom.

“It was Trevor’s idea!” insisted Matt, shoving Trevor. Trevor flailed, grabbing onto his seat to stop himself from tumbling out.

“Hey!” he said. “You thought it was a good idea! And you made _no_ effort to talk me out of it!”

“Yes I did!”

“ _Guys_ ,” Jeremy cut in. He rubbed his forehead. Michael stood at the wall behind him, arms crossed tight across his chest, and Jeremy could hear his quiet giggles. “Shut _up_ and just tell me _why_ you thought it would be a good idea to follow me!”

Matt and Trevor glanced at each other. Trevor motioned to the other. “After you.”

Matt narrowed his eyes at Trevor, but then sighed and said, “You’ve been sneaking off a lot the past two weeks. You thought you hid it well enough that we didn’t notice, but dude—you’re not that sneaky.”

“What!” Jeremy complained. “I was so careful!”

“Dude.” Matt raised his eyebrows. Jeremy’s face flushed warm.

“We wanted to see where you went,” Trevor continued with a shrug. “We found your car here, and then—this guy in a jail cell?” He shivered, and even Matt hunkered down a bit at the memory, drawing his hooding tighter around himself. “Why is that—is that your _friend?_ ”

“His eyes turned red,” Matt recalled, “and he had _fangs_. That didn’t look like a costume.”

Jeremy glanced over his shoulder at Michael. How much should he share? What would happen to Matt and Trevor now? Surely they had seen too much by now. Michael just shook his head and frowned.

“Look,” said Jeremy, turning back to his friends. “I can’t—I don’t have any authority here. I don’t even know if you can leave yet. All I know is you shouldn’t have _followed_ me! Like, seriously, guys. What the fuck. Do you follow _all_ your friends?”

“Not _all_ our friends suddenly bail and change schedules,” Trevor said, crossing his arms. “And suddenly become the flakiest mother fucker of them all. Did you think we wouldn’t notice your half-assed excuses?”

Jeremy threw his hands up, but he couldn’t think of a reply. Trevor was… _right._ He _had_ been a bit of an asshole the past couple weeks. These were the two guys he hung out with even more regularly than the other men here. Matt piped up again as Jeremy floundered for words. “Seriously though… What _is_ this place? Why are you guys all here? If I didn’t know any better, I would say that guy was a vampire—or like, trying to be one. Red eyes, fangs, looking like he _very_ much wanted to eat us. What the fuck is going _on_?”

Jeremy looked back at Michael again, pleading for help. Michael sighed and pushed away from the wall to go stand next to Jeremy.

“Alright,” Michael said. “So that guy is our friend, and yes, he _is_ a vampire, and he’s kind of new at this. We’re helping him, and we’d _love_ it if you’d keep this all a secret.” He stared at them, his expression cool and hard. Matt squirmed under his gaze, but Trevor held it steadily, seemingly unfazed. _Oh no_ , Jeremy thought. _Trevor’s fixing for a fight._

If Trevor had anything else to say, he didn’t get the chance to say it. The breakroom door flung open, and Jack stuck his head in. Jeremy jumped. “Hey,” Jack said, nodding at Michael and Jeremy. “Ryan’s passed out in the infirmary, but he shouldn’t be out for too long. Geoff wants everyone over there.”

Jeremy felt cold all of a sudden. _Infirmary?_ What had Gavin done? Michael was already at the door when Trevor got to his feet. After a brief hesitation, Matt stood, too. “What about us?” Trevor asked.

Jack pursed his lips before answering. “Stay here. Do _not_ leave. If you do, I’m sure Jeremy will tell us _all_ about where you live and work.”

Trevor paled, and Matt sunk back down onto his chair. Jeremy flashed a smile at them, giving them a little wave. “Sorry. Um—I’ll be back as soon as I can. Hang tight.”

Jeremy jogged out of the room to catch up to Michael and Jack. Trevor didn’t move until the breakroom door swung shut again, and then he collapsed back onto his chair as well. He raked his fingers through his short black hair, though a lock still fell back onto his forehead after the motion.

“So,” said Trevor. “Vampires are real, huh.”

Matt hid his face in his hands and shook his head.


	5. The Moth

Ryan came to slowly with a pounding headache and a mouth as dry as ash. He couldn’t seem to take a deep breath. The room he was in smelt sharp and sour like a hospital. A hand touched his forehead, smoothing his hair back. The touch felt good against his headache, and he melted a little inside.

“Ryan. Buddy. Wake up.”

He didn’t want to. His neck ached deeply, and his eyelids felt like they were full of grit. The air was cold against his skin, but he was under a cozy blanket. Something was pinching in his arm, but if he didn’t move, he could ignore it. The hand on his forehead withdrew.

“Wake the fuck up, you piece of shit.”

The last bit of fog seeped out of his mind and eased him fully into consciousness. He blinked his eyes open, staring up at a white ceiling. Geoff leaned over into his vision.

The memory of recent events slammed back into Ryan, and he jolted up, sucking in a gasp. Geoff lurched back and put his hands on Ryan’s shoulders, holding him to the bed.

“Gavin!” Ryan blurted. “He’s out, and there’s two guys who…”

“It’s all under control,” Geoff said. “Gavin’s back in his room, and the two guys are okay. But in a _lot_ of trouble,” he added, glancing over his shoulder to glare at Jeremy. Jeremy shrank back against the wall, making himself small next to Michael and Jack.

Ryan looked around, getting his bearings. The room was all white and definitely the cleanest room in the building, with two cots and a small fridge. The room was big enough to comfortably hold eight cots, but only two had been salvageable and needed new mattresses aside. They had all helped clean this place up on the first day. The infirmary.

“Ugh…” Ryan groaned. He rubbed his neck, but stopped when he felt a bandage. He glanced at his arm now, where the pinching feeling was, and saw an IV drip sticking out of him. It wasn’t attached to a tube at the moment, but he knew then at some point he had needed blood or fluids. “What—what happened?”

Geoff’s hands were rough but warm on Ryan’s arms. He held Ryan’s arm steady and eased the IV drip out. Jack was there in an instant, cleaning it up and putting an adhesive bandage over it as Geoff disposed of the drip in a little designated box fastened to the wall next to the fridge. Jack also handed Ryan a cup of water, which he took gratefully.

“What do you remember happening?” Geoff asked, coming back to his stool at Ryan’s bedside.

“I, um…” Ryan sipped his water and furrowed his brow. “I was taking the people-food to Gavin, and there were two men who I guess must have let him out? And he was advancing on them, so I… I’m—not really sure. It’s hard to remember…”

“That’s what I thought,” Geoff said. He sighed and rubbed his face. “Listen, Ryan, you did good, but I don’t think you should help out anymore.”

Geoff’s words punched Ryan in the gut.

“ _What?_ You can’t just— _decide_ that for me! You  _just_ said I did good!”

Geoff let Ryan make his complaints, then said, “Vampire saliva has unique properties, alright? It’s a very mild sedative—nothing too harsh, just enough to make the act of biting painless or mostly painless for the victim. Some people even enjoy it, to a degree. But for the odd, rare person, the effects are much more intense—and addicting. We call these people ‘moths.’”

Ryan stared at his hand in his lap. He curled and uncurled his fingers, watching them move against his palm. He couldn’t remember much, no, but even now there was a hollow in his stomach, yearning to be filled by… _something_. It was a small feeling, and Ryan might have ignored it had Geoff not brought up this conversation.

“You’re saying—I’m a moth.”

Geoff leaned forward like a parent trying to explain where people go when they die. “It’s like a drug, and the moment it’s in your system, you’re basically helpless. You might even _crave_ it. A person like that shouldn’t be around vampires, Ryan. They’d be actively putting themselves at the mercy of the vampire, being taunted by the promise of bites.”

Anger flashed hot over Ryan’s sin. The cup of water shook in his hand. “You can’t—Geoff, you can’t make that decision for me.”

“Ryan… You don’t understand…”

“I’m not a child!” Ryan snapped, and he hated how high and tight his voice went. He fought to get his tone under control, but he was still loud. “It’s just another _risk_. You’re not telling _anyone else_ off for hanging around a vampire, and Gavin could have just as easily gotten one of them if it had been _their_ shift instead of mine. We _all_ have to watch out and be careful. It’s just another risk for _me_ , and it’s not _your_ decision to make if I get to deal with that risk or not!”

Geoff put his face in his hands, but to Ryan’s surprise, Jack chuckled. “He’s right, you know,” Jack said.

“Y’all mother fuckers make it _so_ hard to protect you,” Geoff grumbled. “Fine. But I don’t want you guarding Gavin alone again.”

“Seems reasonable,” Ryan agreed.

“Maybe we can all start taking shifts in pairs,” Jeremy suggested. “Maybe that will help, too.”

Michael nodded. “That might help Gavin feel less lonely. Speaking of… Geoff.”

Geoff sighed and pointed at the door. “Go. Go see your boi.”

Michael didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. As soon as he got Geoff’s permission, he merely pushed off the wall and strode silently out the door. Jeremy looked like he very much wanted to leave as well, as he still shrunk against the wall but now had no other person to hide behind.

Geoff pursed his lips for a moment, and Ryan saw a muscle twitch in his jaw. Then, Geoff said, “Ryan, you’ll be fine, but you need to recover a bit more. Jack, stay with him until he can stand on his own. Jeremy—come with me. We’ll go deal with your dumbass friends.”

“Yes sir,” Jack and Jeremy chorused. Ryan didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t argue with that. Even now, his head felt a little woozy. Geoff stood and headed out the door, and Jeremy scurried after.

“I support your decision,” Jack said, “but I do feel sorry for Geoff.”

Ryan rubbed his eye and sunk back down to the mattress. “We do a good job of stressing him the fuck out, that’s for sure.”

“I think he’s been through this before.” Ryan forced his head back up to look at Jack. “Or something similar enough to have the same fears.”

Oh. Ryan let his head fall back to his pillow and rubbed his neck, careful not to disturb the bandage. Now he _did_ feel bad. Not that he’d change his decision, of course. He didn’t want to make Geoff relive whatever mysterious, tragic past he had, but it also wasn’t exactly his problem.

* * *

 

Jeremy followed Geoff down the hallway until the older man stopped and spun to face him. Jeremy jumped at the snappy movement, and at Geoff’s icy eyes.

“I hope you realize exactly how much trouble you and your friends are in,” Geoff said, struggling to keep his voice steady and calm.

“Absolutely,” Jeremy said, eyes going wide. “I was trying to _ditch_ them, not lead them here!”

Geoff sighed pinched the bridge of his nose. “How… _how_ did they even get _in_ here. Did you forget to lock the door when you came in?”

“Ryan locked it, I watched him do it!” Jeremy insisted. “It was probably Matt—he knows how to pick locks, and he keeps a set in his car.”

“Which one is Matt?”

“Red hoodie.”

“Right.” Geoff glanced down the hallway in the direction they were headed. “They were extremely lucky Ryan intervened. If none of us had been there… Or if they had spooked and not done what Ryan had said, running _away_ instead of to _us…_ ”

Geoff let his words hang. Jeremy’s face flushed warm with shame.

“Look,” Geoff said. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know what to do with them. They’ve seen too much and I don’t think I can convince them it’s fake. But to make them stay, either by force or volunteering—they don’t know Gavin. They have their own lives. I need to make sure somehow that this doesn’t get out, though. You know?”

Jeremy frowned. He hummed to himself, squinting at the wall.

“Let me handle it,” he said finally. “I can go in alone. I know them best.”

Geoff stared at him, long and pensive, one finger tapping against his chin. Then, he said, “You get twenty minutes. Otherwise, I’m coming in there and putting the fear of God into them. You hear?”

“I hear ya, Geoff,” Jeremy said with a nod. He grinned, then, suddenly. “I won’t let you down!”

Jeremy took off at a jog, heading back to the break room. Geoff watched him go, and when Jeremy turned the corner, Geoff sagged against the wall. He rubbed his face and groaned, pressed his palms into his eyes and sunk to the floor with his back to the wall.

“You crazy kids,” Geoff groaned. “I wish I knew as much as you.”

* * *

 

“Oh hey guys,” Jeremy said, opening the break room door and sidling in. Trevor glared at him, whereas Matt stared pointedly at his feet. They were exactly where they had been left, sitting in their two cheap chairs. “I thought you guys would have slipped out by now.”

“I would have,” Trevor said, looking at Matt, “if _someone_ wasn’t such a goody two-shoes.”

Matt glowered at Trevor. “Look, all I’m saying is that guy was totally gonna kill us if we didn’t. You might have a death wish, but _I_ don’t.”

“Well that’s good to hear!” Jeremy said cheerfully, which caused both Trevor and Matt to jerk their heads up and stare at him. “’Cause if you don’t want to die, I’ve got words for you.”

“Oh, so that scary man really will disembowel us if we leave,” Matt droned.

“Ooh, I can’t wait to be fed to the vampire and exsanguinated in front of a live studio audience.”

“Nice vocab word.”

“Thanks, Matthew.”

“Guys,” said Jeremy. He waited until his friends were both looking at him again before lowering his voice and continuing. “We can’t really keep you here by force, unless you intend on spreading the news. The bare minimum we ask is that you keep this whole thing a secret.”

“Done,” Matt said. “Do not want to die.”

“Especially with you watching,” Trevor agreed.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Alright. But for real.” He lowered his voice even more and glanced at the door. He didn’t think Geoff was listening, or even there, but just in case… “I wanted to _ask_ you guys to stay. To join us.”

“Join you doing what?” Trevor asked. “Hang out in a musty old building every day?”

“Sort of. We’re helping Gavin—the vampire—adjust. He was Turned only a couple weeks ago, but Geoff—the scary man—he seems to know a lot about, I don’t know, _everything._ Another guy knows a little, but not really much more than us.”

“Wait,” Matt said. “You want us to help a guy who tried to kill us remember how to be human?”

Jeremy winced. When it was put like that… “Sort of? Mostly I want you guys to help _me_. There’s something weird about this building and Geoff’s relationship to it. Apparently this place used to be like this headquarters for this Hunter organization. I need help investigating.”

“You’ve already got a few friends to help you with that,” Matt pointed out.

“Yeah, technically, but they’re not interested! I tried, but they’re only really interested in helping Gavin.”

Trevor crossed his arms. “This is honestly really selfish of you, Jeremy. What’s the benefit to us?”

“I…” Jeremy chewed his lip. “I’ll owe you both a _huge_ favor?”

 “Jeremy,” Matt said simply.

“Look! If you just meet the others, it won’t seem so bad. I’ll do—fuck, I’ll do anything for you guys if you help. It’s not hard, it’s just a time commitment. And with _so many_ of us helping, it hopefully wouldn’t even be that much of a commitment! It’s mostly just chatting with him.”

“Anything?” Trevor repeated, sharing a look with Matt.

Matt hummed. Jeremy could feel his pulse in his hands and neck as Matt tapped his foot and stared at the floor. Jeremy pressed his palms against his sides, pretending to put his hands on his hips casually. _Why was he so nervous to hear his friends’ answers?_

Finally, Matt shrugged. “Could be interesting, I guess.”

At that response, Trevor shrugged, too, and ran his fingers back through his hair. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be thinking up that ‘anything’ you promised.”

Jeremy resisted the urge to cheer and pump his fist in the air. Instead, he just did a little hop and clasped his hands in front of him. “Thanks, you guys! You just made everything so much easier. I’ll go get Geoff, and we can introduce you to everyone!”

Before they could respond and potentially change their minds, Jeremy spun around and darted back through the door, leaving them alone once more in the break room.

* * *

 

“Guys, this is Matt and Trevor, my two friends. Matt and Trevor, this is Geoff, Ryan, and Jack.”

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

Ryan sat on a chair backwards in the break room, hiding how tiring it was to be upright. He tilted his head at Matt and Trevor as Jack stood next to him. The others stood in front of him and shook hands.

“So… how exactly did you guys get in here, then?” Ryan asked.

“Picked the lock,” Matt admitted. He pulled a small skinny box out of his hoodie’s pocket and showing it off before replacing it.

Jack frowned. “You’re not some delinquent, are you?”

“What? No!” Matt said quickly, waving his hands. Jeremy and Trevor howled with laughter. “Honestly. I just thought it was a cool skill to have, okay? And I started keeping a set in my car when I forgot my apartment keys for the third time in one month.”

Jack did not seem convinced, but Geoff chuckled and clapped Matt on the shoulder. “That is indeed a very good skill to have! Just don’t do it here again.”

“Of course,” said Jack, “since you’ve agreed to join us, you’ll get a key anyway.”

“Uh, yes, sir,” Matt mumbled. Geoff laughed his throaty laugh again.

“Oh god, I’m fucking—please don’t call me sir!”

Ryan shared a glance with Jack before saying, “It’s… very good of you to help out, especially since you don’t really know Gavin.”

“Yeah, well,” Trevor said, “Jeremy drives a hard bargain.”

“I mean, what else am I gonna do with my life,” Matt said. “Might as well spend it with a vampire, yeah?”

“Speaking of,” Jeremy piped up, “you guys should properly meet Gavin! Michael should be over there, too. Then all you have to meet is Lindsay—she’s the only one not here.”

“She should be here soon,” Geoff said. “Michael texted her as soon as we got into the infirmary earlier.”

“Ryan and I will stay here,” Jack said. “No need to overwhelm Gavin with people.”

Geoff nodded. “Good point. Alright, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Don’t freak out when you meet the vampire again, okay? He won’t attack you again.”

Trevor and Matt shared a glance before agreeing. Jeremy grinned at both of them as they all wandered out the break room.

Ryan got to his feet when they were gone, allowing Jack to put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “I’m gonna take a nap,” he announced, then went over to the nap corner and fell face first into the blankets.

* * *

 

“Michael…” Gavin whimpered from the other side of the silver door. “Is he gonna be okay?”

Michael sighed and looked over at Lindsay, who had arrived unexpectedly some time between the attack and Ryan waking up. She had already been chatting with Gavin by the time Michael returned to Gavin’s room. Now they both sat against the wall with the doorway between them. He rolled his eyes at her; Gavin had been like this the whole fucking time.

“He’s fine, boi,” Michael said. “I _told_ you this. We got him some fluids, but he probably didn’t even really need them. He was fully conscious already when I came back.”

“I’m sure he hates me now,” Gavin mumbled. “I’m so stupid.” The door banged like something hit it. Michael jumped at the noise, and Lindsay put her hand over her heart.

“He doesn’t,” Michael said. “In fact, Geoff tried to get him to go home, and he refused.”

“He refused?”

“Mhmm. Geoff said that he shouldn’t help anymore, since he’s this moth thing, but he was all like, ‘ _no, Gavin’s my friend_.’”

Gavin went quiet. Michael reached across the door, and Lindsay entwined her fingers with his. He could feel himself calming down. He had felt on edge since even before the two strangers burst into the break room, but now his wired alertness was waning.

“Are you sure?” Gavin said. “You’re not just saying that?”

“Gavin, when have I ever fucking lied just to make you feel better? Who do you take me for?”

Gavin snorted. “Alright. I guess.”

Footsteps and light chatter announced the others’ before they rounded the corner. Michael let go of Lindsay’s hand and stood. Lindsay got to her feet as well, and Gavin pressed his face against the barred window. Geoff, Jeremy, and the two new guys approached the silver door.

 “Lindsay!” Geoff exclaimed, giving her a brief hug. “You’re already here!”

“Yeah, I was already on my way when Michael texted me,” Lindsay said.

“But it’s not anywhere close to time for your shift…?”

Lindsay shrugged. “Just wanted to be with Michael.”

Geoff grinned. “Fair enough.”

“No Ryan?” Michael asked. “Jack?”

“They hung back,” Jeremy said. “Didn’t want too many people here, and I think Ryan is still kinda tired.”

“Ah.” Michael frowned. It would have been better for Gavin if Ryan was here and happy to see him, but he supposed that would have to happen later. He didn’t think Gavin was going to feel better about this ordeal until Ryan had a chat with him.

Geoff stepped back and gestured to the two young men hanging back behind Jeremy. “You two, this is Michael and Lindsay. And behind that door there is Gavin. Guys, this is Matt and Trevor. They’ll be helping out, too.”

“Hi guys,” Gavin said, waving his fingers at Matt and Trevor. The two new guys flashed weak smiles at him, unsure of the proper way to greet someone like this. “Sorry for trying to eat you. I’m not usually like that, I swear.”

“It’s—cool,” Matt said. “I guess.”

“Well, we’re here now,” Trevor agreed.

Gavin pulled back from the door. “I really shouldn’t ever be let out. You two don’t have to stay—you barely know me.”

Matt and Trevor shared a glance. Michael held his breath, the hairs on his arms rising. Then, Matt jammed his hands into his hoodie’s pockets. “I mean, it’s whatever,” he said. “As Trevor said, we’re here now. Let’s pretend that didn’t happen and start over. Hi, I’m Matt, nice to meet you.”

Gavin gave him a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Nice to meet you.”


	6. The Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to update it last week but I just got so busy x.x
> 
> I may or may not still be sort of finding my groove for this one, but I made a pledge to myself when I made this account that I wouldn't leave another fanfic unfinished. Not anymore. So, enjoy! Hopefully I can get a nice update rhythm going for this story.

Ryan visited Gavin finally when it was quite late. Matt, Trevor, and Jeremy had all sat with Gavin for a few hours, just getting to know each other. Especially with Jeremy there as a buffer, they were all quickly laughing and teasing each other. Around midnight, Matt and Trevor went home, but Jeremy stayed for a couple hours longer. Ryan got up from his nap some time in the early morning. Jack teased him for “napping” for several hours, and Ryan merely made an ugly face at Jack as he left for Gavin’s room.

Jeremy was still there, but starting to doze off. He sat against the wall, his head bobbing. The cell was heavily silent, the type where a person wants to disappear so badly their silence becomes loud. It made the hairs on Ryan’s arms stand up.

“I’ll take over from here,” Ryan said.

“Ryan…” Jeremy muttered, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “We literally just… I can’t leave you alone here.”

“Just for a few minutes, at least,” Ryan pleaded. “Go get a snack or something.”

Jeremy studied Ryan’s face for a moment, then sighed and got to his feet. “Alright. I‘ll be back in ten.”

Ryan watched him round the corner. Ten minutes was generous, and he knew Jeremy knew that. So much could go wrong in ten minutes. But Gavin was locked up and… had recently fed. And this needed to happen.

“Gavin,” Ryan said, gently, softly. He approached the door and grabbed the bars, peeking through the window. He couldn’t see Gavin from this angle, and Gavin didn’t make a sound. “Gavin, I know you don’t like confrontation, but I’m okay. You don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Gavin blurted. Ah, as he had guessed—Gavin was right underneath the window, sitting against the door. “You shouldn’t stay here. Go home, Ryan.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Ryan said firmly. “You’re my friend and you need help. I’m not leaving.”

“But it could happen again…”

“It won’t,” Ryan said. “We’re adjusting our plans so that it won’t, but I also think you don’t want it to happen again either.”

Gavin sucked in a breath. “That’s the thing, Ryan…” He stood to look Ryan in the eyes through the barred window. Ryan let his hands fall back to his side. Gavin’s eyes gleamed red. “I _do_ want it to happen again. A part of me, anyway. A part of me wanted fresh blood from Matt or Trevor, and a part of me doesn’t. Sometimes the hungry part of me gets so _loud_ , Ryan. Talking to you guys and relearning how to eat normal food without wanting to vom helps, but there’s still that part of me that wants to feed. And now there’s a part of _you_ that wants to be fed _on_. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

Gavin exhaled in a huff. Over the course of his little monologue, his eyes had faded from red back to green.

“You’re right, of course,” Ryan said. “Geoff wanted me to go home for the same reason. But I trust you, Gav. I trust you will do everything in your power to control yourself. And I will do everything in my power to protect myself while helping you. We will _learn_ from this, and learn as we go. I’m not going anywhere.”

Gavin turned away and slipped out of view of the window. “Sometimes I really don’t like you,” he muttered. “Stubborn prick.”

Ryan smiled and crossed his arms. Judging by how Gavin’s voice had cracked during his last words, Gavin did appreciate it, but still felt at fault. He didn’t think Gavin would truly get over it until he could prove to himself that he was always in full control. “Normal,” again. Ryan glanced down the hall to see Jeremy come back into view carrying two small bags of Cheez-its and two bottles of water. Ryan nodded at him as he approached, and Jeremy tossed him a bag.

“Geoff really loves ya,” Jeremy said. “There’s extra Cheez-its and Diet Coke in the cooler.”

“Aww, how sweet of him,” Ryan said. They both sat down and put their backs against the wall on either side of the door. “I might have to grab one later for the caffeine, but I’m pretty rested because of my nap.”

“Hah,” said Jeremy. “Yeah, ‘nap,’ if that’s what you call it.”

Ryan made a face at Jeremy as he ripped open his bag of Cheez-its. Gavin was still quiet, but Ryan’s brain scrambled to think of a way to involve him again. Jeremy, on the other hand, easily switched conversation topics.

“Yo, Gav, Michael and I were thinking of bringing in your DS tomorrow. We were thinking maybe we can all do this Nuzlocke Challenge thing in Pokémon, and we can all start at the same time. Does that sound fun?”

Gavin shuffled. After some pause, he said, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“What the fuck is a Nuzlocke?” Ryan asked.

Jeremy quirked his eyebrow and grinned. “Oh boy… Gav, you wanna help me with this?” And Jeremy launched into an explanation of the Nuzlocke Challenge and its rules, the most important one of which being: if your Pokémon faints, it’s considered dead. Of course, Ryan needed more context, and as time ticked on, Gavin ended up joining in, and both boys were eagerly explaining several Pokémon games and strategies in detail.

Ryan kind of thought it all sounded stupid, but he wasn’t going to kill the enthusiasm.

* * *

 

“Alright, everyone,” Jack said, his voice booming. Matt scuffed the heel of his sneaker against the pad on the gym floor. He couldn’t remember the last time he exercised, and now he and Trever were… learning to fight. He glanced over at Trevor, but Trevor was just staring at Jack, an eager light in his eyes. A couple others were here—Jeremy, looking exhausted from a late night; and Lindsay. Michael and Geoff were up with Gavin. “We’re gonna cover a few more self-defense stuff as well as review our last moves.”

Jack cleared his throat and started to pace. He took a moment, as though to gather his thoughts. Matt watched him. Jeremy said Jack didn’t know much more about this place than everyone else. The person who would know would be Geoff, who was shut tight about it, and this guy named Burnie, who only stopped by to drop off blood bags. But what did Jeremy hope to find in this decrepit place?

Jack started talking again, and Matt jerked out of his thoughts. “While hunting prey, a vampire is most attracted to movement. If you’ve got the attention of a vampire and they haven’t started chasing you yet, running could trigger a chase. If their eyes are on you, it’s usually better to take a defensive stance and hope they’re not looking for prey that’s ready to fight. If you get lucky, you can cause a distraction and slip away.”

Trevor’s hand shot up in the air. “What if there’s a _bunch_ of vampires all looking at you?”

Jack stared at him. “Then you’re fucked? Pray you don’t get into a situation like that. Anyway…” He shook his head. “If they’re hunting but they don’t see you, your best option is to sneak away. Staying in one spot will eventually bring them to you by scent, but they tend to rely on their eyes and ears more while hunting. So I’ll be teaching you how to step lightly today…”

As Jack went through the motions of teaching them, and then setting them up to spar each other, Matt couldn’t help but wonder if by being here, they would come across other mythical creatures like vampires. His tongue burned with the question, but he didn’t ask it. He didn’t know why. Maybe it just didn’t seem that important with a vampire hanging out upstairs. Besides, he wasn’t sure how much Jack knew, or that he would say anything other than “I hope you never need the information.”

Over an hour later and sporting fresh bruises (and a couple accidental scratches from someone’s nails), Matt was done being tossed around by his friends. Jack called for an end to the training session, and they all headed back up to the break room.

Along the way, Jeremy grabbed Matt and Trevor by the arm and tugged them, letting Jack and Lindsay get a few paces ahead of them. “You know, now would be a good time to investigate a little,” Jeremy said in a hushed voice, as Jack and Lindsay chatted with each other.

Matt shivered. “You want us to explore this creepy ass giant building _right_ now? After thinking about all the ways a vampire can kill me for an hour?”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Guys. I’ve been around this place a couple times already. Gavin is the only thing here, and he’s locked up. There’s no danger.”

“If you’ve already been all over,” Trevor said, frowning at Jeremy, “then why do _we_ have to do it?”

“You guys might see or find something I don’t,” Jeremy insisted. “Listen, I’m dumb as shit, but you guys are smart. Help me out on this.”

“You’re not dumb, Jeremy,” Trevor said, but he looked thoughtful. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. It would at least catch us up to speed.”

Matt sighed. This was a losing battle. “Alright. Fine.”

The sound of a clearing throat stopped them in their tracks. Jack was staring at them, disapproval wrinkling his brow. “And what are you three cooking up?”

“I’m just gonna show them around the building, Jack!” Jeremy said smoothly. Jack raised an eyebrow. “Don’t want them to get lost or anything!”

Jack sighed and shook his head. “Right. Just stay out of trouble?”

He turned away, and with Lindsay continued back up to the break room. Matt shared a glance with Jeremy and Trevor. It was clear on their faces that they all picked up on the same thing. Jack let it go for now, but he knew they were up to something. Matt wondered privately if Jack wanted to know this place’s history as much as they did, but was restrained by responsibility.

Jeremy hesitated, then grabbed Matt’s hand and took off down a hallway, Trevor jogging behind. “Come on. We’ll start at the entrance.”

* * *

 

There was a front office just inside the entrance that Jeremy hadn’t gotten into yet. The door was locked, and they could see through the grimy window that not much remained. Still, Matt got out his lock picks and popped the door open.

Inside the small room, the one desk, just under the window, was carpeted in dust and dirt. There used to be a computer here, as evidenced by one remaining monitor whose screen had shattered and burst, but only the monitor remained.

“What do you think happened to _that?_ ” Trevor asked, pointing at the monitor.

Jeremy squinted at it. “No idea. But Geoff _had_ said other things existed, beyond vampires. It looks like something punched it.”

“ _Other things,_ ” Matt repeated. There was his answer. “Like werewolves?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I didn’t ask for more examples when he brought it up. We were all still reeling from Gavin being attacked. And I don’t think Geoff would even tell me now…”

“Why not?” Matt asked. “I mean, if we’re fucking training here…”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “We’re on a need-to-know basis with him, I think.”

“Well, we won’t find the answer here,” Trevor said. “This place is empty.”

They moved on. Jeremy skipped showing them the other offices on the first floor. He had combed through them already, and the offices had not a single shred of paper hidden in them. They had been properly cleaned out a long time ago. So he took them to the other holding cages he had found, on different floors from Gavin’s. As they walked, Jeremy filled Matt and Trevor in on everything he knew already about Geoff and the Hunters organization—which, admittedly, wasn’t much.

They stopped at a hallway of silver doors, similar to Gavin’s hallway. Altogether, in this hallway there were maybe two dozen doors.

“They seem prepared to hold a lot of vampires,” Matt said, peeking into one of the open cells. It looked a lot like Gavin’s, though the ones on these floors looked a bit smaller. They also didn’t have bedframes.

“I don’t know about that,” said Trevor. “Look at the doors, and the rooms themselves. IF they were all for vampires, why aren’t these _exactly_ like Gavin’s room? Look.”

He grabbed the door of the nearest room and pulled it out. He was right, of course. The bars on the window were still silver, but they were thinner, and also included horizontal bars to form a mesh no one could stick a hand through. The slot at the bottom for food was even narrower, and was closed securely by a latch on this side, so it would close with a snap, but require two hands to open.

The back of Matt’s neck prickled. This was different for a reason. He jogged down the hallway, checking windows until he saw what he was looking for.

“Ah ha! Look.” Jeremy and Trevor joined him. This room still had a mattress in it, just on the floor, and it was torn up like a large dog had gotten to it. Jeremy slapped his forehead and said “Oh!” He started yanking all the doors open. Several of them, they could see now, had claw marks gouged into the bottom of the door, around the slot on the inside. Like an animal trying to burrow out.

“And everything is still silver,” Jeremy said. “How much you wanna bet these _are_ for holding werewolves?”

“It jives with the evidence,” Trevor agreed. “You said there were even more different types of holding cells, though, right?”

“Yeah, not all of them are silver,” Jeremy said. “Some of them are steel. There’s not as many as you think, though.”

“Steel, huh,” Matt said. “I guess that would hold most things well enough.”

“So those are the holding cells,” Jeremy said. “I want to show you the basement now, before someone gets mad we’ve been gone so long.”

Matt shared a look with Trevor. Bad things always happened in basements, right? But nonetheless, Jeremy trudged on confidently ahead, and they were forced to follow. Something didn’t feel right to Matt, though. He could sense the discomfort, but he didn’t know enough yet to say what it was. There were so many variables… so many unknowns… What existed and what was still a fairy tale?

Jeremy headed straight to a room on the bottom floor so confidently that Matt was sure he had been there before. And when Matt stepped into that room, he gasped. It looked like a police interrogation room, complete with a control panel and a window that looked into a neighboring room with what appeared to be a dentist’s chair.

Matt approached the control panel, let his fingers drift over the top of the buttons and switches and dials before brushing the dust off his hands. There was soot here, too, like the electricity had been blown out. He crouched in front of the panel, squinting at a row of switches. There was a label—he thumbed away as much of the dust as he could, as Trevor helpfully shined his phone’s flashlight on the area.

“Most of these look like light switches,” Matt reported. “Overhead, flood… but then, strobe, UV… sonic? You never noticed these?”

Jeremy crossed his arms. “Last time, I came in here with Ryan, and he freaked out. I didn’t get to explore it much…”

“And you were too chicken to come back alone,” Trevor teased.

“Oh shut up.”

“Holding cells, I understand,” Matt said slowly, bringing the others’ attentions back to him. “But this is weird. If it’s not straight up torture, it seems like tests. What else would you need a chair like that for? And a UV light?”

“I don’t know, Matt,” Trevor said. “It could be some sort of operating room. You’re suggesting the UV light was used on vampires to mimic sunlight, but maybe it was used to help others. _My_ question is the cells. Werewolves, I can understand holding. They turn human again eventually. But why have cells for vampires? Wouldn’t Hunters just kill them on the spot?”

“We didn’t kill Gavin,” Jeremy said immediately, then quieted. They stood in uncomfortable silence until Jeremy added, “There’s really not as many cells as you think. And I’m sure the ‘vampire’ cells were built to hold a variety of things. Vampires and werewolves can’t be the _only_ guys weak to silver, right?”

“Maybe…” Trevor mused.

Matt sighed. “I’ve had enough of this room. Are you satisfied yet?”

“Let me just check out that other room. Please don’t ditch me,” Jeremy said, and darted out of the room and back into the hallway before Matt could protest staying longer. Matt crossed his arms and just watched as Jeremy entered the room on the other side of the window.

“Can you hear us, Jeremy?” Trevor said, just a little louder than his normal speaking voice. Jeremy didn’t respond as he crouched next to the chair. “Jeremy.”

Still no response. He couldn’t hear them. Matt glanced at Trevor, but before he could say anything, Trevor asked, “So do we trust Geoff?”

Mat forgot to close his mouth for a moment.

“Jeremy seems to trust him,” he said finally. “He might not trust this place or the Hunters’ history, but he trusts _Geoff_.”

“You’ve been thinking about that, too,” Trevor observed. Matt nodded, grimacing. “I’m gonna lay it out while Jeremy is busy over there. Most of us here were introduced to vampires when Gavin was turned by one. We have no history with the supernatural, as far as I know. At least, no history with an organized supernatural hunting squad. Jack knew about it and got some training, but never made it to this building before and never officially joined. His knowledge of this place and organization ends at Geoff’s tutelage.”

“That leaves Geoff,” Matt said. “And his friend Burnie.”

Trevor nodded, keeping his eyes on Jeremy. “And Burnie is barely seen. I don’t know how easily we can interrogate him.”

“So that leaves Geoff,” Matt mused aloud. “We need to talk to him next, but probably not with Jeremy.”

“That would be my next move,” Trevor agreed. He exhaled loudly, watching Jeremy stand up from his examination and brush the dust off his hands. “I think he’s done in there.”

Matt and Trevor headed for the door and met Jeremy back in the hallway. Jeremy was still wiping his palms on his jeans, as though he could still feel the grime on them.

“Yeah, it’s weird,” Jeremy said. “It looks weirdly sophisticated? Like it’s _super_ adjustable. It could hold anyone or anything. But there don’t seem to be any like, _torture_ devices attached to it.” He shrugged. “Maybe it _is_ a dental chair. I dunno.”

“Hospitals _are_ pretty creepy when abandoned,” Matt said. Jeremy’s eyes twinkled.

“They do!” he agreed.

Jeremy headed back down the hall, back towards the stairs. Matt trailed behind him, mulling over their tour. Maybe this place _was_ just a supernatural hospital as well as organization headquarters, and nothing creepy actually happened here. It was impossible to tell with the current evidence. He would keep it as a possible solution, like marking the corner of a Sudoku square. But what this place _really_ was remained a mystery.

Jeremy turned a corner ahead of them, then exclaimed, “Huh? Ryan?”

“Oh! Uhh… Hey, Jeremy.”

Matt rounded the corner to see Ryan stepping away from peering down an unlit hallway. Ryan spotted him and Trevor, and paled.

“You brought your friends on your expedition,” Ryan said, trying to be smooth. Jeremy was just staring at him. “Nice. Find anything new? I thought you were done.”

“Ryan.” Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “I thought you were home today? What are you doing here, in the _basement?_ ”

“I, uh…” His face flushed and he became suddenly interested in the off-white walls of the hallway. “It’s… Well…” He glanced at Matt and Trevor, then gave Jeremy a pleading look.

“Anything you can tell me, you can tell them, too,” Jeremy said firmly. “We’re all on the same team, so spit it out.”

Ryan sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Alright, but please don’t think I’m crazy?”

“No promises.”

“I thought I…” Ryan trailed off into mumbling, his words becoming indistinguishable.

“What?” Matt prompted.

“I thought I heard someone down here!” Ryan said, more forcefully this time. “Didn’t sound like you guys, but I got down here and… I dunno. I didn’t find anything.”

“And why were you here in the first place?” Trevor asked impatiently. “You should be at home.”

“Yeah, that…” Ryan’s flush grew deeper, and he scratched his head. “I can’t really answer that. I guess I zoned out and then I was already on the highway headed here… Running on autopilot, I guess.”

“So you’re hearing voices and have spots in your memory,” Matt summarized. “Sounds pretty crazy to me.”

“Hey!” Ryan protested. “Look, don’t tell anyone else, okay? I don’t need to give Geoff another reason to try and send me home for good. I’m fine, I promise. I can still help.”

“Don’t worry,” Jeremy said. He reached out and clapped a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “I believe you. Come on, let’s head up to the break room. We’ll just say you wanted to check in on us.”

“I _was_ missing the party,” Ryan joked as they all headed back to the staircase. “I mean, everyone _else_ was here…”

Matt met Trevor’s eyes as they walked. Trevor winced and shrugged, then turned his eyes forward again. Matt stared at his sneakers and the ground in front of him, hands jammed into his red hoodie pockets. They were in it for Jeremy, but this was quickly turning out to be more complicated and suspicious than he ever thought it would be. After all, he was just coming to terms with the existence of _vampires_ , let alone stuff he hadn’t met yet. And now he wasn’t even sure he could trust their leader.

This wasn’t just him and Trevor helping a vampire remember how to be human. Were the two of them in over their heads?


	7. The Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ain't nothing gonna stop me from completing this story. though it's ended up slowed waaaay down from my original plans XD oops. But I wanna be careful with such a large main cast again--learnin' from the last time I tried to have several main characters.

The days crawled for Gavin. Inched by. Slogged, dragged, drawled. They wouldn’t let him out of this bloody cage! …though he hadn’t asked recently. Maybe he would ask today. He watched his foot bounce in the air, his legs propped up against the bed as he lay on the floor. The room was dark with the lights off, but he had his laptop open, illuminating the room. Or was it tonight? His phone said the date and time, but that had lost meaning to him. He wanted to see the sun again. Or at least the moon. His phone said it was a full moon soon. That would be nice to see.

He rubbed his eyes, then pressed his fingers against his temples. His headache was coming back. Whenever he thought too much, got stuck in a loop like this, a headache would start building, like pressure against his skull. But even though Jack got him some painkillers, it didn’t help.

Geoff said soon. Soon they would be ready for him to be let out. When was soon? Another week? Another month? They were training so much. When?

Matt and Trevor still seemed so… what’s the word. Apprehensive? Cautious? He supposed he had scared them bad when they first met, but Jeremy had somehow convinced them to stay. Good timing considering they then needed to double up on keeping him company, eh? And Christ alive, the one time he had the chance to get out of here, he wasted it trying to feast on some strangers.

Gavin winced as pain lashed through his brain. He squeezed his eyes shut. He hated these headaches. Did all vampires get them? Was he dehydrated? Did vampires get dehydrated? They called it the Thirst sometimes. The thought of blood, of sinking his teeth into soft flesh, made his mouth water—but then his stomach flipped as his humanity wrestled with his new instincts. Where was the middle ground?

“How did I know you’d be awake.”

Gavin jumped and scrambled to his feet. He had been so self-absorbed that he hadn’t noticed Michael approach his door, peering in through that blasted bared window. Gavin always felt lighter when Michael was around. Somehow more grounded. He could smell Michael’s blood, faintly, pulsing underneath the skin, a tempting meaty scent with a touch of something akin to cinnamon. But when it was Michael, Gavin didn’t feel the urge to bite so much. He didn’t want to hurt his boi, after all…

“You always seem to show up when I need you, Michael-boi!” Gavin said, forcing a grin. “What are you doing here so early?”

Michael shrugged. “I wasn’t doing anything, so…” Michael studied him for a moment as Gavin stood up and approached the bars. “Are you still having headaches?”

Gavin flinched and rubbed his eyes until stars popped in his vision. “Yeah, boi. But I don’t think even Geoff knows what to do, if human medicine doesn’t work…”

“I could go get you a blood bag,” Michael suggested. “Maybe it means you’re just hungry…?”

Gavin shook his head. “Geoff gave me one last ni—this morning, before everyone left.” He still had to get used to calling his “nights” when he slept by their proper daytime terms. Becoming naturally nocturnal while never seeing the outside made adapting awkward. “Maybe you could—let me out. Is the sun setting yet? Michael, I haven’t gotten fresh air in forever, Michael! I haven’t seen the sun or the moon or clouds, or..”

Michael looked pained, and Gavin trailed off, guilt twisting his gut. No, that wasn’t fair to ask Michael to do that. Only Geoff should let him out, when he thought it was time.

“Never mind,” Gavin said. “Forget it.”

“Gavin…”

“I said _forget it_ ,” Gavin insisted. “I know you’re not allowed. I shouldn’t have asked. Did you come here without Lindsay?” he added in an effort to change the subject.

“Yeah,” Michael said. “She should be taking a nap right now since she’ll be by later. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Gavin had winced again. “Maybe not,” he admitted, sitting down on the edge of the bed and putting his hands over his eyes.

“I’ll get you a blood bag anyway,” Michael said. “Maybe that will help. Like a midnight snack.”

“Sure.” He didn’t have the energy anymore to protest. And since blood was being offered…

White hot pain lanced through his skull. He waited until Michael had walked away before hunching over, biting back a groan. This one was definitely the worst headache by far. He pressed his palms against the sides of his head, imagining he was trying to break a grapefruit.

He hated this. He _hated_ this! He was in pain and grappling with wanting to eat his friends. He wanted to go home, he wanted to lounge on a couch and watch a movie, he wanted to hang out with his friends for real. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to—

The bed shook beneath him, and he yelped as it tipped over onto its side and dumped him onto the floor. It wasn’t the most steady piece of furniture—he guessed he had sat too far forward, leaned too much. He sighed and picked himself up off the floor and shoved the bed back to its feet. Then paused and rubbed his eyes again.

His head _did_ feel better now…

* * *

 

Geoff got out of his car and squinted up at the old building, the sun setting and swathing the decrepit thing in burning yellow. Every time he drove up, he couldn’t stop himself from being surprised at its state. It used to be so clean, so organized and lively…

He shook his head. One day his brain will catch up to reality. But for now, Gavin should be waking up soon.

He slammed the car door shut and locked it before heading for the entrance. He couldn’t keep Gavin cooped up like this. How long has it been? He tried to count the weeks in his head, but he felt so unfocused.  He wasn’t sure. Gavin was trying not to complain, but his desire to get out was almost palpable.

Geoff went to put his key in the door when he realized there were two young men watching him from the inside. He glanced behind him. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed the two other cars in the parking lot. He sighed. Matt and Trevor were already here, even though they weren’t scheduled to show up until much later. He yanked on the door. It was already unlocked.

“What,” he snapped at the two young men as the let the door swing shut. He locked it from the inside. “Why are you here already?”

Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee glanced at each other, before Matt spoke.

“We uh… we wanted to ask you about the Hunters’ Organization.”

Geoff gritted his teeth. He thought everyone was done prying about that. “What else is there to say? We hunted monsters. Now we’re not an organization”

They glanced at each other again. Geoff’s heart thrummed against his rib cage, heat rising to the back of his neck.

“Well that’s the thing,” Trevor said. “We’re wondering how an organization just suddenly dissolves. And we’re wondering what sort of hunting party puts monsters in cages and uses chairs with straps on them.”

Geoff’s heart skipped a beat. They had been exploring the building, from the sounds of it. Geoff himself wasn’t even sure what was left here; he had assumed it had all been cleared out. But they had found something. _They had found something._ He stared, motionless, his thoughts going a million miles a minute. What did they find? He wanted to lie. He wanted to order them to leave and never come back. He wanted to deny everything. He wanted everyone to pretend the organization he and Burnie and almost Jack were a part of was a good organization. He wanted everyone to believe, to know, that Geoff had only ever tried to do good.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Matt added when Geoff still hadn’t responded. Geoff blinked. “Not if you don’t want us to.”

“Yeah,” Trevor said, jumping in. “Listen, we just want to know for ourselves. To make sure we’re not joining a… a bad cause.”

“You want to know if you can trust me,” Geoff said. From the way they glanced at each other a third time, he knew he had it right. “Did Jeremy put you up to this?”

“Ye-e-e-es…” Matt admitted. “Sort of. He doesn’t know we’re asking you this. We didn’t want to undermine his trust in you without cause. But we’re not… _like_ you guys. We were friends only to Jeremy and stumbled into this.”

Geoff studied them. If this was a trick, they were very good liars. But… they _did_ deserve to know. They didn’t have the baseline trust the others had in Geoff from being his friend. They needed to know they weren’t… making the same mistake Geoff did.

Plus, he would be lying if he said this whole ordeal hadn’t been weighing on him. There was a constant lump in his chest, reminding him of last time. Geoff closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll give you the rundown. Follow me.”

Matt and Trevor glanced at each other for a fourth and final time, before jogging after Geoff. They didn’t think they’d get this far.

* * *

 

Michael brought him a blood bag, as promised, and Gavin drank it up anyway, even though he wasn’t particularly Thirsty. He sliced the bag open carefully with a fang and drank it slowly as Michael stood on the other side of the door, leaning against the frame. Usually Michael said, but Gavin didn’t pry. Maybe he just felt like standing this time. As Gavin emptied the bag, the last of his headache ebbed away.

“Feeling better, boi?” Michael asked.

“Mhmm.” Then, he added as a little white lie, “I think the blood did help. Thanks, boi.”

“Good.”

Gavin licked his lips and ran a finger down the corners of his mouth, making sure he didn’t leave any smears of blood there. He hated this part of himself… but he couldn’t deny that even now he felt calmer, a little more human again. It was as though the Thirstier he got, the more his brain tried to rile him up. Between feedings, something in him nudged him, got him on his feet and scratched at his senses. He could ignore it for the most part, but when he got hungry enough, it was hard to think straight. Sounds got louder, lights got brighter—his brain wiring him up for his next meal.

He felt like a slave to blood, to this need to hunt. He wasn’t sure how in the _world_ he was supposed to squash it down on a regular basis. He hoped it got easier as time went on and he got to be older. _Ooh_ , he thought. Maybe it was because he was new? Maybe his instincts were like a newborn baby. Maybe Geoff would know.

Michael made a soft noise like a grunt, and Gavin’s ears perked. The door handle shook, and the silver door was pulled open, letting in a cool breeze from the hallway as the two rooms’ temperatures equalized. Michael stood in the doorway, watching Gavin.

Gavin was seized by indecision. This was an out. _An out!_ The door was open! But he shouldn’t. That instinct to hunt never really left him, even if it was quiet now right after feeding. (An out!) Geoff would never allow it. (Fresh air!) Michael watched him, still blocking the door. (The sunset! The moonrise! The stars!)

“Michael,” Gavin whined. “Michael-boi, Geoff said…”

“Geoff isn’t here yet,” Michael said. “Shouldn’t be for another hour. And you’ve been cooped up for too fucking long.” He held out his hand, and Gavin realized he was holding a pair of sunglasses. “Come on. They said you don’t burn in the sun. Just don’t be an idiot and try to run away, or something. You can come see the sunset for once.”

Gavin took a quick step, and froze when he saw Michael tense up. _No, no, he was still dangerous._ (An out!) Gavin made his next steps more slowly and took the sunglasses from Michael. He examined them, turned them around; they were pretty heavy duty. Gavin’s lip threatened to tremble as he looked back up at Michael, and he bit down on it. He threw his arms around Michael and buried his face in his friend’s shoulder, a lump in his throat making him ache. Michael was stiff beneath him, but didn’t push him away.

“Thanks, Michael,” Gavin mumbled into Michael’s shirt. His friend’s scent was a comfort, rather than something tantalizing. He smelled like home.

Gavin pulled away and put on his sunglasses with a grin. When he did, Michael visibly relaxed and grinned back.

“Lead the way, Michael-boi!” Gavin said, pushing the sunglasses up to perch on his head for now.

“This way.” Michael led him down the hallway in the opposite direction the others usually came from. Gavin hesitated, glancing towards the other end of the hall before jogging to catch up to Michael. “There’s a side entrance we can use instead of the front entrance, in case someone shows up early.”

Gavin nodded, forgetting to verbally reply as he followed. He was too busy looking at the building around him. The only time he remembered being in the hallway was when he was overcome with the desire to bite someone. When he… attacked Ryan. He shuddered, glancing into some of the open rooms. Regardless, it looked like they gave him the room that was in the best shape.

The hallways Michael took him down were dark. Gavin never had any trouble seeing, but Michael stumbled over a loose piece of flooring a couple times in the dark hallways, and Gavin grabbed his hand in the unlit staircase as they descended, lest he trip. Then, they entered a hallway with windows to the outside. Grimy, but still letting light in.

Even just the grimy windows made excitement build in Gavin’s chest. He had been inside for _so_ long. And when it became clear that Michael was headed for a door in an exterior wall, Gavin dashed ahead of him, throwing his weight into the door and almost falling through it as it opened.

“Gavin!” Michael called. A warning.  _Don’t run away_. That was okay. Michael was just being careful. Besides, Gavin slowed once the sunlight actually hit him, once the fresh breeze brushed across his face.

He took a few steps outside and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and tilting his face towards the sky. A world of scents exploded in his nose, a mix of dust and car exhaust and faint flowers and musk. He even caught a whiff of a far-off dog, or maybe a few. Animal scents mingling with human scent and industrial scents in a giant tangle. He sneezed. He took another breath and sneezed again.

Michael cackled and Gavin glared at him—or glared as best he could in the bright sunlight. It hurt to keep his eyes open, even as the sky steadily reddened. He rubbed his eyes and winced.

“Your glasses, stupid,” Michael said.

“Oh. Right…” Gavin slipped the sunglasses back on, letting the world dim. Ah, much better. He and Michael walked a bit more away from the door, escaping the old white building. The sun was setting to the right, but a chunk of building stretched further back than the part they exited, throwing a part of this back lot into shade. The area was dirt and dust, with tough yellow grass growing in patches along a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Beyond it was a typical dry southern landscape, patches of green mixed with brown, with other abandoned factory-style buildings spotting the land.

“This place sucks,” Gavin said.

Michael snorted. “The drive from the city is even worse. It takes like an hour with no traffic.”

“Wow, glad I don’t have to do _that_ every day.”

Michael shoved him, making him squeal. “Come on. Do you want to see the sunset or not?”

The two of them wandered over to the section of yard that was swathed in golden orange light, beyond the part of the building that jutted out. They found a patch of dirt that was free of anthills and litter and sat down facing the west.

Gavin couldn’t wipe the smile from his face, his eyes glued to the horizon through the chain link fence. There were a few clouds in the sky, and he examined how the light fringed the dark blue-gray with fire. Why did they always say clouds have a silver lining? They should talk about the fire lining.

He dug his fingers against the dirt, feeling the coarseness against his skin. He didn’t say it a lot, but he _did_ appreciate the effort the others put in for him. It’s why he tried not to complain. They were being safe and reasonable when they could have just killed him before he woke up again. Or let him loose to lose himself to his new senses and instincts.

He closed his eyes and leaned back to lie on the ground. He inhaled deeply again, trying not to sneeze, trying to untangle all the scents from each other. He took a few breaths, before giving up for now and just relaxing as the dying sun warmed him. It was the first time in weeks he could feel his muscles _actually_ relaxing.

“You have an ant on you,” Michael said.

Gavin blinked his eyes open again and sat up. The ant was crawling on his pants, and he carefully flicked the errant insect away. He grinned at Michael—Michael, whose skin was painted orange with sunset, with the light refracting gold in his brown eyes and catching the faint copper color in his hair.

“Thanks, Michael,” Gavin said earnestly.

Michael studied his eyes for a moment, then nodded and smiled.

* * *

 

Geoff took the two men to the gym. No one would run into them there if they arrived early. To their credit, they were patient, waiting for Geoff to find a private spot.

When he entered the gym, he paused a moment, remembering how it used to look. The wheeled weapon racks had been filled with practice weapons. Weight machines and stuff to improve endurance. Mats everywhere, someone always training, always practicing new techniques.

This place used to be so alive, but Geoff had only ever been to a small fraction of the building. Most Hunters didn’t operate out of here; this was for the heads, and for creatures they weren’t supposed to kill. The office workers, in other words. There wasn’t any reason for a lowly Hunter like him to go down certain hallways or enter certain rooms.

“This,” he said, “was the headquarters of the Hunters.”

“We _know_ that, Geoff,” said Trevor.

Geoff groaned. “Oh come on, I’m trying to be dramatic here!”

“Sorry, sorry. Continue.”

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Anyway…” He cleared his throat. “I and Burnie, the guy who drops off blood bags for us, used to be on the same small team. Even smaller than this—it was five of us regularly going out on missions, investigating problems and the like. You know, _hunting._ In terms of pecking order, us Hunters were very low on the list. We had access to a couple offices, this training room, and limited access to the holding cells. This base of operations wasn’t _our_ base, just the organization’s. More often than not, we just Hunted and went home.

“Well, my group, we stuck around. We were hardy and got shit done, and that got noticed. A couple of us got offered better positions, and we would get assigned tougher missions more often. And I met Jack, who had recently discovered the existence of the supernatural, and had taken him under my wing. That was around the time we… well, we learned what really went on in this building.”

He paused to gather his thoughts. He didn’t want to tell everything—some things were too personal; they didn’t need to know _those_ prats. So he had to tell the next part in a way that didn’t make them pry more into his personal feelings.

“Basically…” he started, squinting up at the windows leaking in dying sunlight. “The creatures we weren’t killing—the baby werewolves and vampires, the simply mischievous ones, anything we were told not to kill on the spot—they were kept here. Originally we just thought they were only being held, and then eventually sent home, or whatever. We knew about the cages, like the one Gavin is in, and they were just holding cells. But one day, my team and I… managed to talk to one. Who told us what was going on.”

“And you believed them?” Matt asked. Geoff flinched.

He made it simple. “I did. Besides, we did some snooping of our own to confirm it.” He gestured to the gym, to the building at large, his expression grim and serious. “We helped let loose both information and creatures into the organization, and ran as it dissolved. A few  months later, I came back by the here with Burnie, and the place was cleared out. I don’t know what happened to everyone, and I didn’t want to know.”

“Must be weird being back here,” Trevor noted. Geoff nodded. “So then it’s true, what we thought when we found that weird chair. All the extra holding cells. They were being all evil scientist-y.”

“Pretty much,” Geoff said. “Even werewolves can be considered nonhuman if you’re detached enough. Makes the job much easier when you want to find out what makes them tick—and what makes them burn. Look me in the eyes.”

The boys obeyed. Geoff gave each one equal attention.

“The Hunters themselves,” he said. “We were kept in the dark. We all thought we were protecting the world. But we realized that wasn’t completely true, and we rebelled. But I don’t want the others to know this about me. It’s the past, and all I want to do is help Gavin and make sure everyone is safe. I’ve left it behind. I’m… I’m not proud.”

“You were duped, Geoff,” Matt said. “But we won’t spill.”

“I believe you,” Trevor said. “Thank you for actually telling us.”

Geoff nodded and checked his watch. “I should go up and see if Gavin is awake yet. Do what you want until your shift.”

Geoff brushed past the two young men, who both lingered in the training room, watching him go. When the door swung shut behind Geoff, Matt ran a hand through his shaggy hair and hummed thoughtfully. Trevor was equally quiet for several moments, his hand cupping his chin.

Finally, Trevor prompted, “Thoughts?”

Matt adjusted his glasses, then jammed his hands into his red hoodie’s pockets. His fingers brushed over his lock picking kit. He had taken to carrying it with him everywhere—at least, when it involved this place. “I do believe him. But I don’t think he’s telling the whole story, either.”

“I agree. But we got what we came for, and that was an explanation of this place’s history.”

“Yeah…” Matt glanced around the large gym, at the empty weapon racks dotting the walls. “Hard to believe just a couple men toppled an organization.”

“I dunno, Matt,” Trevor said. “He wasn’t the only Hunter. He said _all_ of them were kept in the dark, and depending on how many of them there were… it could have been enough to cause chaos. But we weren’t there, so…”

“We didn’t get the whole story,” Matt concluded. “But we got enough.”

“For now,” Trevor agreed. “I’m not _suspicious_ of him, but the way he was vague about it… like, he seemed to imply the Hunters were never allowed to talk to the creatures they caught. So I wonder who told him?”

Matt sighed heavily and hung his head. “I dunno, man. It doesn’t feel like it matters much anymore.”

Trevor shrugged. “Maybe. Wanna go get some McDonald’s?”

“Oh totally. We can save some nuggets for Gavin later, too.”

They headed out of the gym and back up the stairs, discussing what they would order from the closest McDonald’s (which was still half an hour drive away). They made it to the first floor and were nearing the front doors when they heard pounding footsteps coming from the staircase leading up. They stopped and spun to see Geoff racing towards them.

When Geoff skidded to a halt, he was panting heavily, but he still managed to speak quickly. “Gavin’s gone,” he rasped, blue eyes wide and wild. Matt felt his heart skip a beat and dread crawl up the back of his neck. “His door is open and he’s not here. Did you…?”

“We didn’t see him,” Trevor said. He glanced out. There were still three cars in the lot out front. “He couldn’t have gotten far, right?”

Geoff followed his gaze, and the transformation on his face was cinematic. Matt watched it go from horror, to realization, to confusion, to fury—all in the span of a second or two. His face contorted and flushed, and he began to visibly tremble.

“Only one of those cars are yours,” Geoff said quietly, his voice dangerously steady and controlled. Matt took a step back.

“Yessir,” Matt said. “We carpool.”

Geoff closed his eyes, took a deep breath through his nose, then snapped.

“ _MICHAEL!!!_ ”


	8. The Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost made this chapter twice as long as usual, but i cut it off.
> 
> It's still technically halloween for me so here ya go!

Gavin leaned against Michael as they sat on the ground, rested his head against Michael’s shoulder. He liked sitting there with his eyes closed, letting the sun burn red against his eyelids, listening to the whoosh of Michael’s heartbeat as it pushed blood through his system, smelling the breeze as the win’s direction shifted. Even if the place was kind of crappy, it _was_ peaceful out here.

Michael had initially tensed up again when Gavin had drawn close. Gradually, however, he had relaxed again, putting his faith in Gavin. Gavin decided he would never, ever bite Michael. He couldn’t make this promise for everyone, but Michael was too warm, smelled too nice, to be his next victim.

He was too alive.

The wind shifted again, and Gavin wrinkled his nose. It was very, very far off, and therefore was very faint, but somewhere in that direction an animal had died—probably a few days ago, since it stinks, but he wasn’t sure how fast flesh rotted. He could ignore it easily, but every time the wind changed to that direction, he smelled it afresh and was reminded of it.

Gavin blinked, opening his eyes to see the horizon blood red and fiery orange.

“Michael…”

“Hm?” He sounded sleepy. Or maybe lost in thought. Gavin hesitated. He could still smell the death on the breeze.

“Did we—Michael, did we ever find out who killed me?”

Michael was quiet for a long moment. That confirmed it for Gavin, though he was sure of the answer before he even asked. He sat up straight to star at Michael as he watched the horizon. When Michael answered, he didn’t turn. “No. Geoff said he was going to find out, but… I dunno. I don’t know what he’s been doing about it.”

“Probably too busy worrying about me,” Gavin mumbled, resting his chin on his knees.

“That’s definitely true for me,” Michael said. “Besides, I wouldn’t know where to start. We saw a figure over… over your body, but they laughed and ran away before we could seem them clearly. That’s it, that’s all we know.” Now he looked at Gavin, a hard glint in his eyes. “But we’ll find that bastard one day. We’ll hunt them down and make them pay. You can believe that.”

And Gavin did. Michael was so fierce and determined in that moment that Gavin felt like he could put his life in Michael’s hands. The wind shifted, swirled around them, bringing a scent that made Gavin’s nose twitch. He didn’t recognize it, yet it smelled somehow familiar… He turned his face into the breeze, blinking and trying to see what it might be…

A man in a red hoodie rounded the corner of the building. Cold dread burst in Gavin’s chest. Uh oh. He was caught. He shared a wild, worried look with Michael just as Matt leaned back to shout around the corner.

“He’s here! I found him!”

“Michael,” Gavin whined. He was clutching Michael’s shirt; when did he do that? “We’re in trouble, Michael…”

Michael pried Gavin’s hand off his sleeve and stood, brushing the dirt off his jeans without taking his eyes off Matt, who was still glancing back around the corner. Gavin scrambled to his feet to stand next to his boi. “I’m not fucking scared of Geoff,” said Michael.

When Matt looked back at them, his expression was pitying. “You’ve pissed him off big time.”

Gavin watched Michael’s brow furrow and wrinkle. Michael rolled his eyes and started marching towards Matt. Gavin scampered to follow, staying behind Michael as the back of his neck prickled hotly. When Michael was halfway to Matt, Geoff rounded the corner, with Trevor on his heels.

“Michael!” Geoff shouted. Fury alighted in his eyes; Gavin could even hear his pounding heartbeat. “I should have known. What were you thinking?”

“What was I _thinking?_ ” Michael snapped. They had reached Geoff and the others now. He gestured behind him at Gavin, who still tried to hide. “I was _thinking_ that Gavin’s been cooped up for too fucking long! He was going stir crazy!”

Geoff ripped at his hair and paced back and forth. Matt and Trevor stayed quiet, looking very much like they wanted to leave. “This was the most idiotic, stupid goddamn thing you’ve ever done. I—”

“Oh shut the fuck up!” Michael groaned. “I wasn’t _a moron._ He fed like an hour ago!”

Gavin felt his cheeks grow warm, and he glanced away from the fight. Talking about him like a bloody dog…

“He’s a fledgling, Michael!” Geoff retorted. “A few weeks old! He doesn’t know when to stop! It’s not a guarantee!”

“And you would know!”

“ _I would!_ ” Geoff roared. He jabbed his finger into Michael’s chest so hard, Michael recoiled. “Gavin doesn’t have the control you think he does. He seems lucid now, but an hour later—two hours—three, he might not be!”

Michael slapped Geoff’s hand away, his eyes glittering. “Do you want us to treat him like a human or a wild animal? Because _I_ thought we were helping Gavin remember how to be _human_ , and I don’t see that happening when we lock him in a fucking cage 24/7!”

Something about Michael’s words struck Geoff; he looked as though he had been slapped, his eyes gone wide and staring. Gavin felt horrible. He wasn’t going to bite Michael… He wasn’t even going to run away. He knew where Geoff was coming from, but Michael was right too. He didn’t want his friends to fight…

“Geoff…” Gavin whimpered.

Geoff snapped back to earth. He blinked, seemingly remembering his anger. He reached beyond Michael and snatched Gavin’s wrist. Gavin squealed as Geoff pulled him away from Michael.

“You were lucky today,” Geoff hissed at Michael. Michael squared his shoulders and glared. “Remember that. Come on, Gavin.”

Geoff tugged Gavin back towards the nearest door, making Gavin stumble trying to keep up. “ _Geoff!_ ” Gavin squealed, digging in his heels and yanking his wrist back—or trying to. Geoff’s grip was tight. But the motion made him stop and glare back at Gavin.

“Geoff, I don’t want to go back yet, Geoff!” Gavin pleaded. “Please don’t put me back in that—that _cell._ ”

“I can’t risk it,” Geoff said through gritted teeth. “You don’t—you don’t _understand_. You feel fine now, but…”

Gavin finally succeeded in taking his wrist back, his hand slipping from Geoff’s grip. Gavin rubbed his wrist with his other hand. He knew Geoff was doing what he thought was right, but he had had enough. “I’m not going to bite Michael!” Gavin said. “Never, ever. We were _fine!_ ”

“You say that now,” Geoff said. “But you don’t know what will happen an hour from now—a day from now. You don’t have the control you think you do!”

“I _know_ I don’t!” Gavin cried, dragging his hands down his face. “But I don’t want to be  a _prisoner_ anymore! Why can’t you trust me?” He lowered his voice as he pleaded again. “I don’t say this for everyone. I _know_ I don’t have control over my own damn brain. But why can’t you believe what I _do_ know? Why can’t you believe me when I say I would never hurt Michael? Why can’t you just let me see the outside sometimes?”

Geoff rubbed his eyes and looked away. Behind Geoff, Gavin saw Matt and Trevor shift awkwardly, bearing witness to a very personal argument. Michael huffed behind him, stubborn but letting the two argue this time.

“I can’t do this again,” Geoff said softly, his voice threatening to break. He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed. “Gavin, I… I’ve lost friends to people who said the same thing.”

“Geoff—” Gavin cut in. “I’m not _like_ them. I’m not those people. I’ve tried to be a good sport, but I’m not bloody _asking_ for much! I just… I want to be treated like a human sometimes! I want to see the goddamn sun! I feel like an _animal_ in there, or a criminal, when I haven’t done anything but be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why are you _punishing_ me for suffering?”

Gavin felt cruel for saying those things, but he didn’t take it back. It was the truth, after all. He had reasoned it out before, knowing he had minimal control over his own brain, knowing he had attacked Ryan because of it. He _knew_ he was dangerous. But he also knew he was still Gavin. He knew he had been human, he knew these were his friends. And he was tired of it. He was tired and Geoff had to _see._

Trevor finally couldn’t stay quiet anymore. He hopped forward, slinging his arm around Geoff’s shoulders. “Okay, hey, everybody, I have an idea. Look, _we_ know and _Gavin_ knows that he shouldn’t have totally free reign. Not until he stops randomly attacking his friends.” Trevor’s eyes flicked up to meet Gavin’s, and Gavin felt himself blush again. “But he _has been_ on his best behavior, and no one got hurt today. I think he’s proven he _can_ be out, so let’s—you know, let’s just have a little more freedom. He gets to walk around, we keep an eye on him, no one gets surprised anymore. Sound good?”

“I…” Geoff rubbed his face. “I need time to think about this.”

Gavin felt like his chest crumpled inward. _Why couldn’t he see?_ “Geoff…”

Geoff shook his head and shrugged Trevor off. “Look, I.. Nothing bad happened today. I can see that, and I trust Michael. So you can—you can finish up out here. But I have to think about the compromise. Okay? You’re… you have a point, and I hear you. I just…”

Gavin sighed and looked towards the west, towards the colorful horizon. “Alright, Geoff. Fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Geoff mumbled. Guilt lined his eyes, a rare moment when his weariness showed so plainly on his face. Gavin was still mad, but… but he couldn’t help but pity Geoff. It was a confusing moment, where he wanted to both lash out at and hug the man.

“You’re a good man, Geoffrey,” Gavin said earnestly. “I just… I can’t…”

“I know,” Geoff sighed. He stepped back and schooled his expression again, all calm and professional. He nodded at Michael. “Get him back to his room soon. I’ll… leave you two to it. I trust you both.”

Michael nodded back and opened his mouth to say more, but Geoff had already turned back towards the door, and Gavin flung out a hand to hush him.

“Sorry about that, lads,” Gavin said to Matt and Trevor, who both shrugged. “Michael and I were just watching the sunset. You can join us?”

“Oh, uh,” Matt said, scuffing the dirt with a sneaker. “We were actually just about to go get McDonald’s. You guys want us to bring you back anything?”

“Oh fuck yeah,” Michael said. “I didn’t pack anything like a fucking idiot. Get me two Big Macs. I’ll pay you back when you get back.”

“That’s fine, it’s on me, boys,” Trevor said. “Gavin? You feel up for eating anything?”

Gavin felt his stomach squeeze preemptively. Eating real food always made it sit uncomfortably in his gut as though waiting for his stomach to remember how to digest things. It got better every time, he knew. But… it _really_ didn’t appeal right now. He said noncommittally, “Eh. I’ll steal some of Michael’s fries.”

“Suit yourself,” said Trevor. “Uh… be safe?”

Matt and Trevor left, and Gavin looked longingly at the sun, which was rapidly sinking lower and lower. Michael snorted and lightly punched Gavin in the arm. “Geoff only said ‘soon,’ so let’s finish watching the fucking sunset. And then we can go back inside before the mosquitos eat us—uh, eat _me._ You’re probably not very appetizing anymore to bugs.”

Gavin grinned. “Maybe being dead is worth it just for that!”

* * *

 

Two nights later, Geoff still hadn’t made a decision about the proposed compromise. Jeremy sat with Ryan outside Gavin’s door for the first shift that night. Geoff hadn’t told anyone about Gavin and Michael’s excursion to the backyard, but the two lads did not have the same reservations.

“It’s been two _days_ , Jeremy!” Gavin complained. “I think there is a full moon tonight. I want to see it.”

Jeremy shifted, trying to get comfortable against the cold hard wall. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t Geoff agree to this? If we have two or more people with you, I don’t think you’d be able to get away.”

He heard Gavin flop down on the other side of the silver door, and when he spoke again his voice came through the food slot. “He said he ‘can't do this again.’ Whatever that means.”

“Sounds like this isn’t the first time he’s been friends with a vampire,” Ryan said.

“You’d think he’d be better at it, then,” Gavin grumbled.

Jeremy was quiet. He had been satisfied for the time being, investigating this place. Matt and Trevor had told him they had cornered Geoff about the history. They had said that Geoff didn’t know a lot about what most of the organization did, since all he really did was hunt, but he did know that they probably did autopsies and shit. Maybe a little torture if it was like, a supernatural gang member. Basically, it was an operation, but mostly boring. But now this hinted at more again.

And what made the organization fall?

“Jeremy.”

“Huh? What?” He realized they had been trying to ask him something.

“We were thinking of asking Geoff again if we can let Gavin out,” Ryan said. “You know, see the full moon.”

“You really think that’s a good idea…?” Jeremy asked warily.

Ryan shrugged. “He was out with Michael before with no incident. I don’t see what the hold up is.”

Jeremy waited, but Ryan kept staring and Gavin remained quiet. “You—you want _me_ to ask him?”

Ryan rolled his eyes as though it had been obvious. “Duh. I’m a moth; Gavin asked before already; Michael is not a model student right now, to say the least; and Matt and Trevor probably wouldn’t want to suggest it anyway, and aren’t as close to Geoff. You’re our best option.”

“You’re forgetting someone,” Jeremy pointed out. “Jack. He could probably convince Geoff to compromise.”

“But then we’d need to convince Jack!” Gavin groaned.

“It might be worth the effort,” Ryan reasoned. “Jack does like you, and doesn’t have whatever history that’s holding Geoff back. If he agrees with us, Geoff would find it hard to stay stubborn.”

“I guess…” Gavin said, but he didn’t seem convinced.

“Jack should have second shift tonight with Michael,” Ryan said. “Why don’t we talk to him when he arrives?”

“And by ‘we’ you mean me,” Jeremy said sourly. Ryan grinned.

“You’re still the best one to do it.”

Jeremy sighed and sagged against the wall. “Fine…”

“It’s for a good cause, Jeremy,” Gavin said.

Jeremy snorted, but that did make him less nervous about this. “You’re right. You’re right. I’ll talk to Jack.”

* * *

 

“I dunno…”

“Jack, please.” Jeremy licked his lips and tried to tackle the conversation from a different angle. He had waited in the entrance hall for Jack, and the lot outside was unlit. He couldn’t see outside at all from inside the bright hall, just a sheet of inky darkness. “Listen, you know he was outside the other day. He was fine with just one person! If we bring him outside with two…”

“Michael and Gavin were _lucky_ ,” Jack said, but he didn’t sound convinced by his own words— he sounded more like he was just parroting Geoff. But then Jack hummed thoughtfully and held up a hand when Jeremy tried to speak again.

“Jack…”

“Shh, I’m thinking.” Jack turned away from Jeremy and went to lock the front door, an action he had forgotten to do when Jeremy had cornered him. Jeremy thought he saw movement in the corner of his eye, but when he glanced over at the reception desk, he didn’t see anything. When Jack turned back around from the door, he still looked pensive. “Jeremy, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, wha—”

“Have you noticed that Gavin acts differently around Michael? He’s calmer, easier to talk to when Michael shares your shift, but when you’re with someone else, Gavin seems a bit more anxious, less in control?”

Jeremy blinked. He tried to think about that, to review his memories to see what Jack saw, but he just couldn’t imagine it. Gavin just always seemed wired and stressed out to Jeremy. When it was “Lad Time” (as Gavin called it, when Jeremy and Michael shared a shift), they joked around more, but Jeremy thought that that was just because of their dynamic together as a group.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe? I haven’t noticed.”

“Ah, maybe it’s just me, then.”

“Well…” Jeremy floundered. “I mean they were best friends before this even started. Gavin’s probably just more comfortable around Michael, still.”

“You may be right,” Jack said. “And I do agree—I think Gavin has been cooped up too long. He’s been a good sport but he’s starting to lash out. If we want to avoid more trouble we need to change our methods. Perhaps if both Michael and Geoff escorted him around outside…”

Jeremy grinned. Jack was pretty much on their side. “That seems like a great combo to me. Geoff has the experience, Gavin trusts Michael and doesn’t want to bite him…”

Jack nodded. “Alright. I’ll bring it up with Geoff.”

“Yay!!” Jeremy cheered and threw his arms around Jack’s middle, making Jack grunt. “Thanks, Jack. Gavin will be very happy.”

Jack pried him off and smoothed the front of his shirt. “No promises yet! You know how stubborn Geoff can be. Even if it’s coming from me, it may be a struggle to convince him.” He paused. “Why don’t we both talk to him?”

“Oh—if you think that’s a good idea.”

Jack smiled warmly at him. “I think so. Come with me; he should already be in the break room.”

* * *

 

Jack wasn’t surprised that Ryan was still there, in the break room. People from the previous shift usually stayed a while longer. He was quietly having a snack while he played solitaire with the deck of cards Jack had brought one night.

Geoff was, as expected, already there as well. Privately, Jack thought Geoff spent too much time here. It was wearing him out, but no matter how much Jack tried to get Geoff to go home early or arrive at the building later than usual, to take a day to himself, Geoff refused. Something about responsibility, and such.

Geoff perked up from his phone when Jack entered, and when he saw the both of them with purpose on their faces, he shut off his phone and sat up.

“You guys look like you wanna chat,” he noted.

Jack nodded. “We had an idea for Gavin.”

Geoff visibly tensed up, but didn’t tell him to shut up. Jack chose his next words carefully.

“Gavin’s been a good sport this whole time, but he’s starting to lash out more. He understands his position, but he needs room to stretch his legs. We were thinking that with both you and Michael, he could safely move around a bit more outside his… room. You have the most experience of all of us, and Gavin claims to have zero desire to harm Michael—and didn’t hurt him when it was just the two of them before. I think it would be a good idea if maybe tonight, you…”

“No.”

Jack blinked, his words dying in his throat. Jeremy, however, responded immediately.

“No? _No?_ Geoff, are you serious? What possible reason do you have to refuse this?”

Geoff shot to his feet. “You don’t know how unpredictable fledglings can be!” he snapped. “One moment they’re fine, the next they’re manipulating you or fighting you, and I—” He cut off for a moment, his voice strangling itself before he could wrestle control back. “I don’t trust myself to make a good judgement call.”

“Then trust us,” Jack insisted. “We know how to protect ourselves now. At least trust me.”

Geoff shook his head. “You don’t know what it’ll truly be like until you’re too late. I’m saying no and that’s final. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to check on.”

Geoff stormed out of the room as Jack and Jeremy watched on, flabbergasted. Ryan watched the door swing shut behind Geoff before slowly shuffling the deck of cards back together.

“That was… awkward,” said Ryan.

“He’s just being stubborn,” Jack said. “Give him time.”

“You know,” Jeremy said.  “We could just do it anyway. You’re the second most experienced of all of us, Jack, and you’ll be with Michael for your next shift.”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t want to go behind Geoff’s back like that. Just give him a couple days to cool off, and we’ll try again later.”

Jeremy grimaced. “Gavin isn’t going to be happy about that.”

Jack sighed. “No. He’s not.”

* * *

 

Ryan rubbed his arms as he walked around the first floor of the building in an aimless loop. He knew he should nap or something, and he knew he was technically free to go home, but his nerves felt wound tight, especially after the scene Geoff made. The thought of lying down made the night feel long. He hoped walking around would make him tired.

He rubbed his neck as he wandered into a hallway with windows to the outside. The grime didn’t help the pitch blackness beyond their panes. His neck had been aching all night. Had he been clenching his jaw or something?

He passed a door and paused, looking at it. There were handprints on the bar across its width— this must be the door Michael and Gavin had used the other day. He frowned and walked over, pushing on the handlebar.

The door swung easily outward into the cool night and he stepped through. The back lot was draped in shadows like a blanket, but the moon was bright and full where it hung partway to the horizon, drowning out many of the stars that would otherwise shine. The breeze felt nice, though, and it seemed unfortunate that Gavin would miss a night like this because of Geoff’s unreasonable stubbornness.

“ _Hello again, my little moth_ ,” a voice whispered behind him.

He didn’t remember anything after that, except that he felt like he was floating.

* * *

 

Gavin took the news surprisingly well—that is, he whined about it, then went silent for several long minutes, then requested they talk about other things. Jack and Michael did their best to keep him distracted, but there was always that nagging thought. _Why is he a prisoner?_

“You have to watch this show,” Jack was saying. “I think you’d like it.”

“Yeah, sounds interesting,” Gavin said unenthusiastically. He was getting kind of tired. Like it was too much effort to have any more emotions. He let his fangs slide out and prodded at them with his tongue—probably a bad habit, but they were just so _weird_.

“Yeah, it—oh, hold on. Geoff sent me a text. I’ll be right back—Michael, you okay being here alone for a little bit?”

“Huh? Oh yeah. Go ahead.”

Gavin listened to Jack stand and walk away, his footsteps fading down the hall. He took a deep breath and withdrew his fangs. He was getting better at controlling that part of him. It was like learning how to use a new muscle, and he figured it was kind of like how cats used their claws.

Michael sighed, making Gavin’s ears perk up. “We’ll get you out of there,” Michael said softly. “We’re gonna try and convince Geoff again in a few days when he’s calmed down.”

Gavin swallowed the small lump that suddenly formed. It felt too hopeless for him to believe it would work, but he said, “That’s good.”

“We haven’t given up. We’ll take care of y—”

_CRASH._

Gavin leapt up and put his face against the bars of the door, and Michael also scrambled to his feet. It was loud for Gavin, but in actuality it sounded like it was a few hallways away.

“What was that!?” Gavin asked.

“I dunno,” Michael said. “Maybe Jack or someone tripped down the stairs.” He didn’t sound convinced, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, “I’m going to check it out. I’ll be back soon.”

“Michael…” Gavin watched his friend stalk down the hallway, tense and ready to fight.

Dread crept into his stomach and he didn’t know why. He backed away from the door, backed all the way up until his back was against the opposite wall. The hallway was too quiet. He couldn’t feel any presence there, and it suddenly felt quite empty.

His temple began to throb with the threat of an oncoming headache. He wished Michael hadn’t left him.

The silver door swung slowly, silently open. Gavin’s palms felt clammy against the wall. The hallway appeared darker than usual; he could feel someone there.

“ _Come, child_ ,” whispered a voice.

Something about the voice was faintly familiar. It called to him, promised him.

“ _Don’t you want to see the outside_?”

He did.

* * *

 

Jack sent a text to Ryan as he made his way back to Gavin’s room, asking to text him back when he got home safely. He _assumed_ Ryan had left, anyway. He tucked his phone back into his pocket with a little shake of his head, thinking about what Geoff had told him. This building used to have enchantments to help keep uninvited guests out. Geoff wasn’t sure if they were still functioning after years of no upkeep, but he had been chatting with Burnie and wondering if they could form a plan to find a witch somewhere. Jack had agreed it was a good idea, though none of them had any clue as to where to start. Hopefully it wasn’t needed, though.

Jack tugged at his beard as he climbed the stairs. He needed to think of something to help ease the stress of everyone. The air was getting tense… They couldn’t be at odds for much longer—it was like a powder keg.

Jack turned into the hallway of silver-doored cells and froze. Something was wrong. His instincts screamed it at him, but it took him a few moments to realize what it was.

Every cell door was open. Including Gavin’s.

Jack sprinted to Gavin’s door and looked inside, as though he hoped the young vampire would somehow still be there. No, of course he wasn’t. And Michael was gone too. Anger flared hot across Jack’s skin. Did they really do it _again_? Was Michael _that_ stupid to let Gavin out again so soon, when Geoff was still stubborn?

Geoff couldn’t know. Jack had to find the two of them and get them back here before Geoff noticed.

But where? He wasn’t sure if they would try to pull the exact same stunt, or if they were just on a walk around the building. The most efficient way would be to search in an expanding circle, so Jack started running.

He spent almost half an hour searching when he found Michael. He had passed that dark stairwell several times already, but only just now noticed the body crumpled at its base as it stirred. Jack’s heart skipped a pounding beat as he rushed over and dropped to Michael’s side.

“Oh my god,” Jack gasped. Michael’s head was bleeding from a cut over a massive bruise near his hairline, but he seemed otherwise uninjured. Something had knocked him out with a blow to the head, but now he was coming to. “Oh fuck. Michael. Michael, wake up.”

Michael groaned, his eyelids fluttering until he squinted up at Jack. “Jack? Ohh, my head hurts…”

Jack helped him sit up, and Michael flinched the whole way. Michael brought a hand to his forehead and, upon feeling the wetness there, pulled it away to look at the blood on his fingers. He stared silently, a mask of confusion on his face. Even sitting up, he was swaying a little, so Jack kept his hand firmly on Michael’s back.

“Michael,” Jack urged. “Look at me. Did Gavin do this? Where is he?”

“Huh?” Michael blinked hard as he seemed to study Jack’s face. “Gavin?”

“His door is open and he’s gone,” Jack said, fighting to keep his voice calm and to not rush Michael. “Did you open his door again?”

“No,” Michael said, and Jack impulsively felt relieved—until he thought about the alternative. Would Ryan have opened it, if he was still here? Jeremy? A stranger? Could Gavin have figured out how to get out himself? “No, I… I heard something. A crash.”

Jack’s blood ran cold. “You heard a crash. You came over here to see what it was, and then…”

“Yeah.” Michael frowned. “I think I need to lie down.”

He started to slump against Jack’s hand, but Jack pushed against his weight. “Not yet. Not here. Come on, get up. Lean on me, come on…”

Jack helped Michael stand and draped Michael’s arm over his shoulders. Michael was very dizzy and couldn’t seem to find his balance, but with Jack helping immensely they could walk down the hall.

Jack’s brain was going a million miles a minute and he wasn’t sure what to do first. Gavin was gone. Someone had knocked Michael out after drawing him away from the cell and left him there. He needed to find Geoff. He needed to take Michael to the infirmary. He needed to find Gavin. Michael was hurt. Gavin was gone.

Careful not to jostle Michael too bad, Jack wriggled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Geoff with one hand. Geoff picked up after the first ring. Jack didn’t even wait for him to say anything.

“Meet me in the infirmary. Michael is hurt. Gavin is gone.”


End file.
